Afghan Smuggling Network Dismantled in Romania

OCCRP — Europol announced on Wednesday that, in cooperation with German authorities, Romanian police arrested 21 suspected members of a transnational network that smuggled Afghan migrants to Germany and France.

Police made the arrests as they raided 19 addresses in Bucharest, Timișoara, and Timiş county that the network allegedly used as bases of operation since May 2020. The group itself was mostly comprised of Afghan nationals, with 16 of the 21 suspects being of Afghan origin.

The migrants were originally found by the smugglers in refugee camps, according to Europol. It is suspected that this network transported roughly 200 individuals from safehouses in Romania to various locations across Western Europe, mainly France and Germany.

Read more at OCCRP

Source: riskscreen.com