Europol Says Arrested 11 People In Operation Against Migrant Smugglers

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 16th July, 2022) The European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol) said on Friday it apprehended 11 people in an international police operation against a crime ring smuggling migrants to the European Union through Belarus.

"A cross-border operation, coordinated by Europol and involving law enforcement authorities from Estonia, Germany, Lithuania, Poland and the UK, has led to the dismantling of an organised crime network smuggling migrants from Belarus into the EU," Europol said, adding that the operation led to 11 arrests � 10 in Poland and one in the UK based on a German warrant, including one high-value target in the UK.

During the operation, 28 locations in Germany, Lithuania and Poland were searched by law enforcement officers and 11 transfers were detected with 11 facilitators and 60 migrants. The operation also resulted in seizures of electronic equipment, documents, evidence of money transfers and cash, Europol said.

"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 ($10,075) and EUR 13 000 ($13,098) for a full smuggling service from their country of origin, via Belarus, to Germany generating an estimated turnover of at least EUR 7 million ($7.05 million) for the criminal network," the statement said.

In recent years, the EU has been struggling with a migration crisis as people from Africa and the middle East, fleeing poverty and war, try to cross the Mediterranean and reach the continent. The influx of people helped create a burgeoning criminal industry dedicated to transporting migrants to Europe by illicit means.