Polish Border Guard officers tackle an organized criminal group
Officers from the Border Guard Station in Radom dismantled an organized criminal group specializing in organizing the illegal crossing of the Polish border by foreigners. 10 people were detained in the case, including employees of one of the district labor offices.
The dismantling of an organized criminal group, including the arrest of 10 people – Polish citizens and the search of suspicious apartments and office premises of the district labor office, took place last week (May 21, 2024) in the Masovian Voivodeship. As a result of the search, Radom Border Guard officers seized several dozen data carriers on site, including SIM cards, pendrives, computers and mobile phones, as well as several dozen company stamps, bank documentation, certificates and statements. Four cars with a total value of PLN 187,000 were seized as part of future fines. PLN and financial resources in the amount of PLN 187,650 and EUR 1,800.
The suspects are accused of participating in an organized criminal group that, operating in the period from 2019 to 2024 in the southern counties of the province. Masovian Voivodeship was aimed at organizing illegal crossing of the border of the Republic of Poland by foreigners from countries with increased migration risk (Turkey, Georgia, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, India, Pakistan, Rwanda, Afghanistan, Philippines, Ghana, Kazakhstan, Iraq, Iran, Nigeria, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Belarus) by providing documentation necessary to obtain a national visa and certifying untruths regarding the intention to employ a foreigner and provide him with accommodation in the territory of the Republic of Poland and thus extorting untruths from officials of one of the district labor offices in the form of ” Certificates of entry of the application in the register applications for seasonal work” regarding the place of performance of seasonal work by a foreigner.
Importantly, those suspected of participating in the criminal group include, among others, state officials and private individuals who, as a result of the operation in question, have become a permanent source of income for themselves, achieving significant financial benefits. According to the findings of Border Guard officers, the group could have extorted over PLN 5,000 by acting in this way. certificates of entry of applications in the register of applications for seasonal work.
Three people out of 10 detained were charged with participating in an organized criminal group. The court applied a preventive measure to five people in the form of pre-trial detention for a period of 3 months. Preventive measures were applied to the remaining 5 suspects in the form of police supervision, property bail, a ban on leaving the country with simultaneous confinement of their passport.
