Human TraffickingOrganised Crime

Polish Border Guards detain members of organized criminal group

Officers from the Vistula Border Guard Unit and the Central Police Investigation Bureau again hit an organized criminal group. Its members made profits from making it easier for foreigners to legalize their stay in Poland. Three more members of the group were detained. There are already 44 suspects in the case, with a total of over 400 allegations.

Investigation for many months is conducted by officers from the Border Guard Post in Bydgoszcz and by policemen from the Management Board in Olsztyn of the Central Police Investigation Bureau. The officers’ findings show that the members of the organized criminal group made it easier for foreigners to stay in our country against the law. The illegal practice consisted of organizing documents allowing for applying for a temporary residence and work permit by the competent voivode. In addition, these persons represented foreigners in administrative proceedings. According to investigators, due to the activities of a group of almost 600 foreigners, including citizens of Pakistan, Syria, Algeria, Iraq, Egypt, Libya, Iran and India, they could illegally stay in our country. Preliminary calculations show

To detain another three people, suspects include participation in this group took place last Wednesday (May 27) in Warsaw. The detained are Poles – two men aged 48 and 32 and a 49-year-old woman.

After bringing and questioning in the National Prosecutor’s Office in Bialystok and presenting allegations of activity in a criminal group dealing in organizing illegal stay on the territory of the Republic of Poland for foreigners, the arrested three were sanctioned in the form of a ban on leaving the country, police supervision and a ban on contacting persons related to the procedure of facilitating the illegal stay of foreigners on the territory of the Republic of Poland.

This is another blow to this group. The first activities were carried out in March last year, then 16 people were detained, including 13 Poles and 3 citizens of Ukraine. In April and May 2019, further actions were taken, arresting suspects and securing evidence. Already this year, 13 people were detained during operations carried out in January, March and May.

There are 44 suspects in the case. The result of the investigation is also establishing and securing property belonging to suspects in the amount of nearly PLN 2.5 million, in the form of, among others money in different currencies, cars and real estate. The case is of a developmental nature and further detentions are not excluded. The investigation is overseen by the Podlasie branch of the Department for Organized Crime and Corruption of the National Prosecutor’s Office in Białystok.