270 Vehicles and 810 People Checked During 'Green 2026' Exercise

Bratislava, 8 January (TASR) - In cooperation with the police, Financial Administration (FS - the tax and customs office) checked 270 vehicles and 810 people during the Zelena 2026 (Green 2026) security and enforcement exercise on Wednesday (7 January), TASR has learnt from director of the FS communications department Lucia Verchovodkova. She added that, during the checks, FS's canine units detected one suspected case of unauthorised possession of narcotics, which was handed over to the police. The purpose of the exercise was to strengthen security, to combat smuggling and illegal migration, and to prevent the transport of illicit goods. "The operation was aimed at showing zero tolerance for legal violations, verifying the readiness of law-enforcement forces, and practicing a joint course of action during checks in border areas. FS participated by deploying officers directly in the field to perform customs and tax supervision procedures," explained Verchovodkova. She specified that modern technical equipment, including a mobile scanner and specialised detection devices, plus dogs trained to find illegal goods were used, while expert procedures for checking vehicles and detecting breaches of customs and tax regulations were applied. According to Interior Ministry spokesperson Matej Neumann, three suspect nationals of Turkey and Afghanistan with forged Estonian passports were intercepted, with one case involving the use of a lookalike passport. "The coordination and cooperation of law-enforcement units during escalated events, such as migration pressure, is one of the most important prerequisites for handling them successfully," stated Neumann. On Wednesday (7 January), the exercise was also attended by Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estok and his Bavarian counterpart Joachim Herrmann, who praised the work of Slovak law-enforcement bodies. Conversely, former Interior Minister [2020-23] and opposition MP Roman Mikulec ('Slovakia'–'For the People' caucus) criticised the event, calling it a "theatrical show" because Slovakia isn't currently facing any migration pressure and police resources should have been used to address rising crime rates instead. jrg/df