3.4 million collected

Six arrests: Police break up smuggling ring

According to the Ministry of the Interior, six people have been arrested in Austria in the latest international crackdown on human trafficking. The raids and house searches on Wednesday in Vienna and Tyrol were preceded by more than two years of investigations in cooperation with other European authorities.

In Vienna, a 24-year-old man was arrested by officers of the Ilz Aliens and Border Police (FPG) on suspicion of commercial smuggling. Another 24-year-old was also arrested by the Federal Criminal Police Office in the Austrian capital.

Six suspects arrested
In addition, three men aged 37, 43 and 46 were arrested in Vienna by the Burgenland Criminal Police Office. In Innsbruck, a man aged 33 was arrested by the Provincial Criminal Police Office of Tyrol - with the support of the Provincial Criminal Police Office of Burgenland. 

Several thousand euros in cash, cell phones and tablets were seized in the course of the house searches. Further information on the ongoing investigations will be published in due course as they progress.

The suspects are said to belong to a criminal network responsible for smuggling, document fraud and arms trafficking along the Balkan route. Investigating authorities from Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Germany, Poland, Serbia and the United Kingdom were involved in the operation. Europol supported the operation with two experts on the ground and a joint investigation team led by Eurojust coordinated judicial cooperation.

3.4 million euros generated
The smuggling network, which was mainly operated by Syrian nationals, had been organizing the illegal entry of migrants into the EU since 2021. The route was mainly via the Balkan region with the destination countries Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. The network generated an estimated 3.4 million euros through smuggling fees of up to 12,000 euros per person.

According to the investigators, the organization was characterized by extreme violence - both towards migrants and rival smuggling groups. At least two deaths of Syrian migrants in Latvia are also directly linked to the network. In addition to organized smuggling, the group was also involved in money laundering and arms trafficking.