Police smashed the trawl: hundreds of Syrians illegally to Europe!

Police smashed the trawl: hundreds of Syrians illegally to Europe!

In September 2024, a comprehensive police campaign started on the Styrian-Slovenian border, which was initiated by a vehicle control. A stateless person with roots from a Palestinian refugee camp was discovered when he tried to travel to Austria with three illegal migrants. This incident led to the "Operation Ranger", a large -scale investigation by the Federal Criminal Police Office, supported by authorities from Germany, Belgium and Poland, which has now smashed a criminal network.

like Exxpress.at , a total of 15 suspected tugs were arrested in several countries in the course of this operation. In a period of two years, the gang is said to have smuggled at least 300 predominantly Syrian migrants across Austria and Poland to Germany and other EU countries. It is striking that many drivers of the slip vehicles were stateless Palestinians with recognized refugee status that spoke Arabic.

The extent of human trafficking activities

The backers of the towing were part of a violent hooligan scene in Poland and collected around 1,000 euros per inserted Syrian. These criminal structures only form part of the overall problem of human trafficking in the European Union. Between 2013 and 2014, a total of 15,846 registered, identified and suspected victims of human trafficking were counted between 2013 and 2014. 76 percent of the victims were women and girls, and 67 percent were sexually exploited.

The number of unreported cases could be considerably higher. As stated in the EU directive against human trafficking from 2011, the problem also includes forced labor and other forms of exploitation such as begging or organ withdrawal. The EU Parliament has repeatedly called for reforms and improved support for the victims in recent years to strengthen the existing legislation to combat this crime.

worldwide are an estimated around 21 million people victims of forced labor, with women and girls over 70 percent of those affected. These alarming statistics illustrate the urgency with which the European countries and institutions have to trade in order to smash such criminal networks and to ensure the safety of endangered people. Europaparlament also emphasizes the need for better implementation of the existing laws and increased support for the victims of Human trade.