A large organized criminal group that smuggled migrants, predominantly Syrian origin, from Greece to Germany through the so-called “Balkan route” was broken in the joint international action of German, Dutch and Bosnian authorities, with the support of Eurojust. During the police action, a total of five people were arrested, one in Germany and the Netherlands and three in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
All were arrested by Syrian citizens who organized the land transport of migrants with vehicles from Greece to Germany.
According to the investigator, this network is from 2021. At least 500 migrally transported an irregularly, although the members of the group on social networks advertised a far larger number. For illegal transport, they searched for about 4,500 euros per person, and is estimated that they earned at least 1.4 million euros on smuggling.
The investigation against this group was enabled thanks to the previous common investigative action, which also supported Eurojust, which last year in October and November resulted in the arrest of 29 people.
Based on these data, contact with the competent in Bosnia and Herzegovina has been established, which led to the arrest of three suspects in the territory of BiH. According to the investigation, the members of the Grupa occasionally used serious physical violence, as well as modern communication tools in their action.
During this week, within the coordinated action, four locations were searched and extensive material documentation was seized, including mobile phones used for smuggling activities, more vehicles and smaller amounts of narcotics.
The action was conducted on request and in cooperation with the Prosecution in Vajden and the Federal Criminal Police in Munich, National Prosecutor’s Office in the Netherlands, as well as the Special Department for Organized Criminal of the Prosecutor’s Office of BiH and the State Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA), writes N1 BiH.
