Czech Republic: Driver detained for illegally transporting asbestos across national borders

Prague – A truck with an Austrian license plate was seized by Czech police and customs officers on Monday. The vehicle, which had been carrying 20 metric tons of hazardous asbestos material across the former Dolni Dvoriste border, was stopped during a nationwide traffic control operation.

As part of the operation, Czech police and customs officers work with the Czech Environment Inspection to check trucks that travel through the country’s border in eight locations. The driver was a 36 year-old Croatian man who was suspected to be travelling from Austria to Dresden, Germany. The former border where he was stopped is one of the largest crossings on the Czech-Austria border.

The driver was initially stopped while he was unknowingly violating the law. He was trying to make his travelling distance shorter by cutting through the Czech Republic on his way to Germany. Officers confirmed that he had the proper documents to travel between Austria and Germany; however, he did not have authorized documents permitting him to transport asbestos through the Czech Republic, a country where the substance has been banned for nine years.

Officers detained the driver for four hours, in which they questioned his reason for transporting asbestos across borders, checked his documents, and searched the truck for possible criminals and illegal contraband. A spokesperson for the Bohemian foreigner police told reporters that the driver will be required to return to Austria with the cargo after the questioning.

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