Since January, 61 People Have Been Arrested for Smuggling Immigrants to EU Through Belarus
According to Europol, since January of this year, 61 suspected members of this migrant smuggling network have been arrested, AtoZSerwisPlus.com reports.
The same has revealed that eight arrests were made in Germany, two in Lithuania, and one in Poland.
In addition, the authorities carried out checks in 17 different locations, 14 in Germany, two in Lithuania, and one in Poland. Throughout the action, 12 transfers with 13 facilitators and 30 migrants were discovered, and electronic equipment, various documents, and cash were confiscated.
In a statement, Europol has revealed that the criminal network, which consisted mainly of Syrian and Turkish citizens, organised the entire journey of Iraqi immigrants from Baghdad to the EU through various smuggling corridors.
“The migrants recruited in Iraq travelled to Russia via Turkey and then to Belarus before entering the EU through the borders of Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland. The final destinations were predominantly Germany and, to a lesser extent, Finland,” the statement reads.
In this regard, Europol also emphasises that the extensive criminal network, which was linked to over 100 incidents, was hierarchically divided, and as a result, most of the individuals involved in the smuggling operations were not personally known.
Back in February 2022, the Operational Task Force Flow (OTF) was established by Europol, and the same is currently operating from Vilnius.
The investigations supported by the OTF have so far led to over 40 arrests and the discovery of about 100 transfers of more than 1,000 immigrants in total, during the action day which took place on December 7, 2022.
Previously, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, Frontex, in cooperation with Europol and Spain, arrested a total of 382 people who smuggled immigrants and trafficked human beings.
As Europol explains, most of these arrested persons are alleged to be involved in drug trafficking, facilitating illegal immigration, document fraud, and firearms trafficking.
At the same time, almost 16,000 officers were also involved in this operation known as Joint Action Day (JAD) in Southeast Europe, which took place between October 26 and 29, mainly in the Balkans and Southeast Europe. Law enforcement authorities also opened 130 new investigations through the arrests and evidence found.
