Europol: Criminal Network Smuggling Migrants From Syria Busted

(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) BRUSSELS, July 4 (KUNA) -- Fifteen members of a criminal network led by a Syrian accused of smuggling migrants from Syria into the EU have been arrested, Europol said Tuesday.
The EU's police agency, based at the Hague, said the network used an "unusually long and expensive" route to smuggle illegal migrants from Syria into the EU.
Starting in Syria, they were taken via Sudan or the UAE towards Libya. From Libya, they were taken to Algeria, before the journey into Europe via the Mediterranean.
The suspects are believed to have arranged the smuggling of at least 200 migrants through this route, corrupting officials to carry the migrants from Libya to Algeria, from where the migrants were taken to Spain on high-speed boats, it noted.
In Europe, members of the criminal network based in Belgium, Germany and Spain coordinated the sea crossings and facilitated the secondary movements to destination countries.
Europol said that the investigation found that the suspects charged from EUR 7,000 to EUR 20,000 (USD 7,628 to USD 22,000) per person for the longer journeys through Sudan or the UAE.
The investigation revealed that the network, possibly active since 2017, was involved in a wide range of illegal activities, including migrant smuggling and the trafficking of drugs and firearms. (end)
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