ZAGREB, November 7, 2018 - Varaždin police on Wednesday said in a press release that border police had noticed damage to the fence around the cemetery in Cvetlin and that the search was on for unidentified perpetrators. The police issued the press release in response to an earlier statement by the local municipality, which assumed that migrants were involved, and said that there had not been any significant increase in the number of illegal crossing of the border in that area.
The police said that an on-site investigation disclosed that unidentified perpetrators had cut the wire fence around the cemetery, bending it toward the ground, and that the damage is estimated at a hundred kuna and that police were looking for the perpetrators.
"We also note that the police have not recorded any theft or break-in that would indicated that the perpetrators are illegal migrants," the press release said. "The Varaždin police administration has not recorded any increased number of illegal crossings of the state border in the Cvetlin and Jamno area. However, the border police are acting in accordance with their own assessment of risk and covering the area along the state border and at all access routes," the press release said, adding that in the past two months, 10 people were identified as attempting to illegally cross the border and that they had been dealt with in accordance with the law.
The local municipality reported earlier in the day that the cemetery fence had been damaged and that local residents assumed that this was done by migrants attempting to cross the border into Slovenia. Even though residents are aware that the route toward Slovenia passes through Cvetlin and Jamno, no one has anything against migrants, but residents are concerned with the security aspect, the municipality's press release said.
For more on the migrant crisis as it affects Croatia, read here.
