A Danish policeman checks the identity papers of passengers on a train arriving from Germany | Sean Gallup/Getty Refugee valuables grab nets Denmark nothing

A controversial Danish law allowing police to confiscate valuables from asylum seekers has netted the authorities no money at all in its first 11 days, according to a police spokesperson.

The new rules, which came into effect on February 5, allow cash or items that do not have "sentimental value" to be seized if they are worth more than 10,000 kroner (€1,340). But the police spokesperson told AFP that no asylum seekers carrying that amount of money have been stopped and searched so far.

The law, part of a package of reforms which includes delaying family reunification for some refugees by three years, sparked international criticism.

Denmark, which has a population of 5.6 million, registered 21,000 asylum applications in 2015. Last week, 230 people applied for asylum in Denmark, according to the Danish Immigration Service.

On Tuesday, a police spokesperson said officers were taking the cell phones of refugees, including children, in a bid to verify their identities.

The newspaper Politiken reported that Danish police have taken the phones of at least 55 unaccompanied migrant minors in the past few months.

“If you come to the country and say that you are from Syria but don’t have anything but your blank expression to prove it, then mobile phones are the best way to ensure that you’re telling the truth or whether all of your calls turn out to be to Ghana,” a police spokesperson told Politiken.

He said all of the minors get their phones back after police have confirmed their identity.