Human Trafficking

Smuggled Vietnamese through Poland. Ten people indicted

Lublin branch of the Department for Organized Crime and Corruption of the National Prosecutor’s Office in Lublin sent an indictment to the District Court in Warsaw against ten persons accused of participating in an organized criminal group organizing the illegal migration of Vietnamese citizens. “Baltic channel.” The proceedings were conducted by the Border Guard Post in Terespol.

The prosecutor of the Lublin branch of the Department for Organized Crime and Corruption of the National Prosecutor’s Office in Lublin accused three Vietnamese citizens of managing an organized criminal group and illegally organizing unlawfully crossing the border of the Republic of Poland to other persons. These acts are punishable by up to 10 years imprisonment. In addition, the prosecutor accused six remaining persons of organizing illegal crossing of the border of the Republic of Poland with other persons. The accused turned themselves into this source of income. A total of five people were accused of participating in an organized criminal group. These acts are punishable by up to 5 years imprisonment.

‘Baltic channel’ immigration

The investigation found that the criminal group was active from 2012 to 2017 in Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Russia. It was established that the organizers of the deal legally imported Vietnamese citizens to Russia by air. Then the “shifted” people unlawfully crossed the green borders in organized groups from Russia through Belarus, Ukraine or Estonia and Latvia to Lithuania, and later to Poland and then to Western Europe. The organizers conducted their activities in the territory of Vietnam, Russia, the Republic of Belarus, Poland, Germany, France and Belgium. Each of them was responsible for a specific stage of the foreigner’s journey from Vietnam to Europe.

USD 15,000 for transfer

The group included both citizens of Vietnam and Poland. The role of group members operating in the territory of the Republic of Poland was to organize foreigners of Vietnamese origin, crossing the Lithuanian, Ukrainian or Belarusian border contrary to the provisions of the Republic of Poland, to provide them with food, means of communication and a safe place to stay in Poland. D alszy their transport to Germany or France followed after a specific amount of money for organized “metastasis” – usually in the form of transfer or the transfer of money from the families of foreign nationals from the territory of Vietnam. One-time transfer cost 15,000 US dollars US.

The group was headed by Vietnamese citizens

The organizers of the criminal procedure were Vietnamese citizens legally residing in the territory of the Republic of Poland, registered in the largest cluster of Vietnamese minorities in Poland – in the region Warsaw and Wólka Kosowska. These persons, in addition to conducting criminal activity, also had registered economic activities located in many shopping centers located in Wólka Kosowska, Warsaw and Konin. Thanks to their commercial activities, they had numerous contacts with Polish citizens and citizens of the Baltic countries, namely Lithuania and Latvia. These persons were later used by the organizers of criminal proceedings as persons seeking drivers or drivers responsible for the illegal transport of foreigners from the territory of Lithuania or Latvia and Ukraine to Poland, and then to Western European countries.

Flowchart

The organization of each metastasis was basically the same. Each smuggling was preceded by a number of telephone contacts leading a group of accused persons with persons on the territory of Vietnam, whose purpose was to determine the number of migrants, dates, develop transit, as well as make financial and settlement arrangements. Contacts were also conducted with organizers located in the territory of transit countries: Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Latvia and Lithuania, as well as those staying in destination countries, among others Germany, Belgium, France, Great Britain. As a result of the activities carried out, it was found that the organizers also contacted persons in Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Spain as part of criminal proceedings. After making the initial arrangements and agreeing to undertake the organization of illegal migration, they moved to the next stage of activity. The organizers used the places of residence, business operations or locations available to them by members of the Vietnamese diaspora in the region to store migrants. Wólka Kosowska, Mroków or Warsaw.