With the support of Europol and Eurojust, the German Federal Police and the Romanian Police dismantled an organized criminal network that smuggled migrants, mainly Afghan citizens.
According to a press release issued today, October 6, by Europol, during this action, the police raided 19 locations, including 14 in Timisoara, four in Timis County and one in Bucharest, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.
On the day of the rally, which took place on October 5, police officers identified and immediately arrested 27 suspects, of whom 16 were citizens of Afghanistan, one from Iran and four from Romania. In addition, during the same action, the police confiscated a significant amount of cash, 83 mobile phones, other electronic devices, and ten ampoules of morphine.
From the same press release, it became known that such illegal activities have been carried out since May last year, despite the COVID-19 pandemic and increased control.
“Investigative actions show that the network has been operating in the Romanian counties of Timis and Arad since May 2020. The criminal network, consisting mainly of Afghan citizens, smuggled Afghan migrants recruited in refugee camps and other places where asylum seekers gather,” in the Europol statement.
The suspects are believed to have smuggled about 200 migrants from Romania to other Western European countries, mainly Germany and France, facilitating the smuggling and placement of migrants at transit points.
To receive such services and travel to one of these two countries, migrants paid between € 1,000 and € 2,000 just to be transported in the back of large trucks, which were very dangerous.
It is believed that for several days of transportation, the migrants were hidden behind pallets, tree trunks and other cargo, in inhuman conditions without any security measures in case of emergencies. German investigators from Rosenheim and Munich identified fifty more similar cases.
According to the results of the investigation, the truck drivers did not know that there were people on the back of their trucks. When truck drivers took a nap in Romania, smugglers untied the ropes covering the trailer doors to make a hole and got out of the car.
From there, the migrants, unnoticed by everyone, entered the loading area, and when they reached Germany, they jumped off the truck when the drivers took a break or unloaded the cargo.
Throughout this action, Europol assisted in the exchange of information and provided technical support and coordination. Moreover, on the day of the action, Europol dispatched an analyst to Romania to provide real-time information exchange.