8 arrested in Romania for smuggling migrants along the Balkan route

An operation led by the Romanian Police (Poliția Română) and the Romanian Border Police (Poliția de Frontieră), supported by Europol and involving the Bulgarian General Directorate Combating Organised Crime (Главна Дирекция Борба с организираната престъпност), has resulted in the dismantling of an organised crime network involved in migrant smuggling. The suspects were smuggling migrants from Bulgaria to Romania and then to Western Europe. The investigation was also supported by Austria, Germany and Hungary.

Results from 29 July 2024:

• 9 locations searched (2 in Arad, 3 in Bucharest, 1 in Oradea and 3 in Timișoara);
• 8 arrests (Romanian and Syrian nationals);
• 32 migrants found in one of the safe houses searched (9 Iraqi and 21 Syrian nationals, as well as 2 others with unknown nationalities);
• Seizures include documents, electronic equipment and cash.
  
  Between EUR 5 000 and EUR 10 000 migrant smuggling fee to reach to Western Europe from Türkiye

The investigations revealed that the criminal network, consisting mainly of Syrian and Romanian nationals, was operating from Bucharest and was using Timișoara as a hub for housing and facilitating the transport of migrants to Western Europe. The suspects recruited migrants from the Middle East, mainly Syria, who wanted to reach Western European countries, especially Germany.

The leader of the criminal network, a Syrian national who had lived in Romania for three years, had strong ties with other key organisers based in Istanbul, Türkiye. He acted as a regional coordinator for migrant smuggling activities along that leg of the route. He allegedly recruited Romanian nationals, who usually worked as private taxi drivers, to transport the migrants. Between February and May alone, the Romanian authorities detected five smuggling incidents with a total of 70 irregular migrants. The individuals were transported in lorries concealed between merchandises. Each migrant paid between EUR 5 000 and EUR 10 000 for the full smuggling services until the final destination.