11 People Arrested in Germany, Poland and UK for Smuggling Migrants to EU
In a statement issued on July 15, Europol confirmed that through the operation a total of 11 people were arrested, of them 10 in Poland and 1 in the UK based on a German warrant, AtoZSerwisPlus.de reports.
According to Europol, 28 locations were also checked, including two in Germany, four in Lithuania, and 22 in Poland. In this case, 11 transfers with 11 facilitators and 60 migrants are also discovered;
“Seven in Lithuania with seven facilitators (nationals of Georgia, Latvia, Lithuania, Syria, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan) and 44 migrants, all Iraqi nationals; four in Poland with four facilitators (nationals of Georgia, Syria, and Ukraine) and 16 migrants (Two Afghan, two Indian, eight Iraqi and four Syrian nationals); Seizures include electronic equipment, various documents, evidence of money transfers, and cash,” the statement reads.
During the day of the action on July 13, 99 incidents of illegal transport of immigrants and 662 migrants smuggled by the targeted network were discovered. As Europol explains, the same criminal network was hit in January 2022, when Polish authorities arrested 20 suspects and seized more than €500,000 in cash in euros and dollars. This criminal group consisted of Syrian and Turkish nationals.
“The members of the criminal network were based in and acting from the countries across the smuggling route. Their tasks were divided hierarchically, with the majority of the individuals acting at different levels, not knowing each other personally. The migrants paid between EUR 10 000 and EUR 13 000 for a full smuggling service from their country of origin, via Belarus, to Germany, generating an estimated turnover of at least EUR 7 million for the criminal network,” the statement also noted.
On the other hand, the criminal network recruited drivers for the final transfer to the EU, who were mostly Ukrainian citizens, through Internet forums and social media platforms. Meanwhile, they paid between €500 and €1000 per person for their services on this last part of the smuggling route, from Poland to Germany.
In addition to the staff already deployed to the OTF/JIC, Europol deployed three experts in Lithuania and Poland to counter real-time operational information against Europol databases, perform digital forensics, and support field investigators with new leads.
On June 6, an Operational Task Force (OFT), led by the German Federal Police and coordinated by Europol, targeted some of the most dangerous migrant smugglers across the European Union.
OTF Pathfinder involved law enforcement authorities from 6 countries such as Austria, Germany, Hungary, Romania, Serbia and the Netherlands and thus led to the opening of 39 new investigations.
The final day of action led to the arrest of two high-value targets, 12 house raids and the seizure of over €80,000 in France and Germany.
