Austrian police crack People-Smuggling-Ring: 209 victims freed!

Austrian police crack People-Smuggling-Ring: 209 victims freed!

Today, numerous media report on the continuing efforts of Austria to combat tractor crime and human trafficking. Austria plays a central role in the coordination and implementation of these measures, such as the Kleine Zeitung . These operations include cooperation between the Federal Criminal Police Office and the state criminal offices of the federal states.

As part of these actions, a total of 343 Austrian executive staff are in use. 49 checkpoints were already set up in the federal territory, in which 5,157 people were checked and 330 vehicles were checked. In addition, 88 flight movements were monitored and 1,508 ID documents were examined. Particularly noteworthy is the identification and support of 209 potential victims, mostly women aged 18 and over. Many of these victims are often affected by sexual exploitation and social service fraud.

identification of victims

The methods used by the perpetrators are alarming. A widespread technology is the "Lover Boy Method", in which women manipulate and push into prostitution. In some cases, they were even forced to steal customers or rob them under violation of violence. The focus of the investigation is on a Romanian group of perpetrators that is active in several EU countries. Europol even reported 1,194 potential victims across borders.

In Austria itself, there were several arrests. Among the ten alleged human dealers who were arrested, there is also a Serbian citizen who was arrested for drug trafficking. Two Romanians were arrested in the prostitution environment for fraud. A total of 182 new investigations were initiated, nine of them with direct connection to Austria.

international cooperation

International cooperation is also evident in the reports of the Ministry of the Interior, which already indicates the increasing challenges in the “Leveling report towing and human trafficking in 2021”. In 2021, more illegally entered people and tractors were recorded than in the previous year. These climbs are partly due to the loosening of the entry and passing controls. A new team in the Federal Criminal Police Office deals specifically with the fight against tugs and human trafficking and cooperates closely with countries in the Western Balkans to counter these criminal activities.

The recording of tractors entails new investigations. Here, reference can be made to successful operations such as cooperation with Polish and Slovenian authorities. These resulted in the arrest of ten tractors. Another surgery against a Syrian group of perpetrators that dragged migrants to Austria and Germany led to over ten arrests.

social challenges

The number of victims of human trafficking remains worrying, while one is repeatedly discussing the overlap between towing and human trafficking. It is crucial to differentiate between these two phenomena: While towing is often associated with transnational illegal entry, human trafficking is often also carried out within national borders. People who use tugs usually do this on their own will, while the exploitation of people is a serious threat.

The challenge remains great and it is clear that effective fighting of these crimes through national and international cooperation and increased awareness of the public must be supported to prevent people from falling in the catches of perpetrators.