Human TraffickingNews

People smuggling network in the Netherlands and Hungary dismantled

Eurojust has supported the Dutch and Hungarian authorities in dismantling a people smuggling network. During an action day, the Dutch authorities arrested two suspects, who organised the transfer of irregular Syrian migrants from the Hungarian-Serbian border into the European Union. The suspects allegedly hired two drivers of illegal transports, who were arrested earlier this year in Hungary. Those arrests led to the setting up of a joint investigation team (JIT), with support and funding from Eurojust.

The two suspects who were arrested this week are also allegedly involved in the hiring of three other drivers, who had been arrested previously in Germany and Austria for people smuggling. The setting up of the JIT was the essential step to link the various arrests to the two alleged main suspects, in order to dismantle the network.

Apart from supporting the JIT, Eurojust enabled the cross-border judicial cooperation between the authorities involved and organised a coordination meeting to prepare for this week’s operation. In the Netherlands, the actions were led by the Public Prosecutor’s Office (PPO) Oost-Nederland, with the support of the National Police (Nationale Politie). In Hungary, the operation was carried out by PPO Baja and the National Bureau of Investigation.