People smuggling

Europol arrests three on suspicion of smuggling irregular migrants into Germany

Europol’s European Migrant Smuggling Centre has arrested three individuals suspected of smuggling irregular migrants into Germany.

The arrests of three individuals in Romania, Serbia and the United Kingdom, who were suspected of smuggling irregular migrants into Germany on a large scale, followed several months of joint operational work between authorities in the countries involved, co-ordinated by Europol. Police forces took part in a synchronised covert strike on 8 May, which resulted in the successful arrests of the three suspects.

The arrests also coincided with the conclusion of a parallel investigation into the facilitators of the large-scale migrant smuggling operation in the Western-Balkan region, which resulted in the arrests of five additional suspects in Serbia.