Four suspects detained by DIICOT following international searches at members of migrant smuggling group

The Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT) prosecutors detained four suspects, following searches conducted simultaneously in Germany, Turkey and Romania, at members of a criminal group that smuggled 580 migrants, a DIICOT press release sent to AGERPRES on Thursday informs. 

Prosecutors from the central structure, together with judicial police officers with DIICOT, carried out eight home searches in Timis County, in a case aimed at destroying an organized criminal group specialized in migrant smuggling. 

"There is a reasonable suspicion in this case, that, in the period 2014 - 2018, the cross-border organized criminal group acted in a coordinated manner, with a view to committing migrant smuggling offenses, by organizing fraudulent transfers of citizens from Iraq, Iran and Syria to states from western Europe, by guiding, directing, transporting, transferring and sheltering them, through the transit countries on the routes Iraq / Iran / Syria - Turkey - Greece / Bulgaria / Serbia - Romania, with the final destination Germany, in exchange for sums of money ranging from 2,000 and 20,000 euros/ person," the release shows. 

In November 2018, an agreement was reached on the establishment of a joint investigation team, consisting of judicial authorities in Romania, Germany, the United Kingdom and Hungary. 

On Wednesday, simultaneous searches were carried out on the territories of Germany, Turkey and Romania. Following the actions in our country, at the headquarters of DIICOT - the Central Structure, four persons suspected of having supported the criminal group were brought for hearing. 

The four suspects were detained for 24 hours and are to be presented before the magistrates of the Bucharest Court on Thursday, with a proposal for a preventive arrest. 

DIICOT mentions that two Romanian police officers participated in the five searches carried out on the territory of Germany, and two German counterparts participated in the searches conducted in our country. 

During the investigation, was documented the criminal activity of a total number of 36 suspects, who managed to organize the smuggling of 580 migrants found in the territories of Germany, Hungary and Romania. The sums of money obtained from criminal activities amount to about 2 million euros.