There were extensive searches, Thursday morning, in several counties in Romania, but also in Germany. Targeted by the DIICOT prosecutors’ investigation are dozens of people accused of migrant trafficking, but also of endangering their lives. For each migrant, the leaders of the network collected 5,000 euros, say the investigators. More than 35 people, Romanians and Arabs, will be taken to hearings.
The criminal group of migrant traffickers was allegedly formed on the territory of our country as early as April 2022. The goal – to easily obtain large amounts of money, prosecutors say.
The members of the group, Romanian and Arab citizens, had to identify migrants of Afro-Asian origin who wanted to reach Western European countries, especially Germany.
“Subsequently, the transport of these migrants was carried out by the criminal group organized in two segments: 1. the migrants were picked up from Bulgaria, passed illegally through the border crossing points in Romania and, subsequently, transported to the Timișoara/Arad area; 2. after they were staying for 1-2 days on the territory of Romania, the migrants were boarded in other vehicles, with which they were transported to the countries of Western Europe, especially Germany, being illegally crossed through the border crossing points in Hungary”, the DIICOT press release states.
Dozens of migrants, crowded into small spaces
Migrants were boarded in cargo vans and were hidden either in the sleeping space located above the driver’s cabin, or in the cargo compartment of the van, where special small wooden compartments were made, where up to 27 people were crammed. Later, the respective niches were masked by crates with vegetables and fruits.
“Both ways of hiding involved a very high risk of asphyxiation of the migrants (for example, 5-6 migrants were put into the sleeping cabin with an area of about 2 square meters). In addition, taking into account the way they were transported (without any safety system, piled on top of each other), the lives of the migrants were constantly put in danger during the transport”, the file opened by the prosecutors states.
How much did migrants pay to reach Western countries
To reach Western countries, especially Germany, each migrant paid guides around 5,000 euros, through the Hawala system, say investigators.
During the criminal prosecution in this case, the Romanian investigators documented 13 such transports. Two other illegal transports of migrants are being investigated, in parallel, by the German authorities.
On Thursday morning, the Romanian prosecutors made 29 house searches within the radius of the city of Bucharest, but also in the counties of Ilfov, Argeș, Dâmbovița, Constanța, Buzău and Braşov. At the same time, also in Germany, the authorities searched several homes of some suspects in this case. More than 35 people will be taken to hearings at the DIICOT headquarters in the migrant trafficking file.
This is not the first case in which migrants and their guides hope to fool the vigilance of border police. Last week, a Romanian was caught at the border with Hungary, while trying to get out of the country 8 migrants hidden in the trunk. The man was driving a trailer with cars to Germany and wanted to leave the country through Vărșand Customs, in Arad county.
Editor: Izabela Zaharia
