Spanish police with the support from the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol) have dismantled an organized criminal network and detained 15 suspects that smuggled over 200 migrants from Syria and Algeria to the bloc, the EU's law enforcement agency said on Tuesday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 04th July, 2023) Spanish police with the support from the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol) have dismantled an organized criminal network and detained 15 suspects that smuggled over 200 migrants from Syria and Algeria to the bloc, the EU's law enforcement agency said on Tuesday.
"Europol supported the Spanish National Police (Policia Nacional) in dismantling an organised criminal network smuggling migrants from Syria to the EU. Law enforcement authorities from France, Germany and Norway were also involved in the investigation," Europol said in a statement.
The criminal network has been operated from Libya and Spain, with its cells detected in Sudan, Liberia and the southeastern Spanish city of Almeria, and was also involved in drugs and weapons trafficking and money laundering, the statement said.
"The criminal network, led by a Syrian suspect, benefited from a widespread infrastructure in the countries along the route, mainly Lebanon, Sudan, Libya and Algeria. The suspects arranged for the smuggling of at least 200 migrants through the rarely used migration route from Syria through Sudan or the United Arab Emirates," the document read.
Suspects charged from 7,000 euros ($7,629) to 20,000 euros per person for the trip, according to the statement.
Spain has been struggling to cope with the rising number of predominantly sub-Saharan African migrants coming ashore in a bid to reach better-off European countries. The Spanish Interior Ministry said that over 8,500 migrants had infiltrated the country between January-May, with over 4,000 arriving in the Canary Islands.
According to International Organization for Migration data, as of June 19, of the 81,973 total migrant arrivals in Europe this year, 74,590 were arrivals by sea while 1,380 migrants died or went missing on the way.
