Stockholm – A Danish court on Wednesday sentenced a man to three years and three months in prison for smuggling 74 people into the country, police said.
The man, aged 49, denied the charges and said he wanted time to consider whether to appeal.
A police statement said that he was arrested in March 2015 at the Danish-German border in southern Jutland while attempting to smuggle a Palestinian national.
Denmark in January introduced spot checks at some of the country’s 15 border crossings to Germany as part of efforts to control the flow of migrants.
The district court in Sonderborg ruled that the smuggling was systematic and organised.
Police also seized 42,000 kroner (6,200 dollars) in cash as well as passports and identity cards, adding that some documents were forged.
Prosecutor Kristine Andersen welcomed the ruling and said the case was the result of good cooperation between Danish and German police.
“The case originated in Germany where two other men are serving sentences,’’ she told newsmen.
German police contacted Danish counterparts in connection with a probe into a larger smuggling ring with links to Italy.
The smuggling took place between April 2014 and March 2015. (dpa/NAN)