Europol – a European Union anti-crime agency – said it had supported the Spanish National Police in dismantling an organised criminal network smuggling immigrants from Syria to the European Union (EU) through Libya, Algeria and Sudan.
The agency said on Tuesday that law enforcement authorities from France, Germany and Norway were also involved in the investigation before the apprehension.
According to Europol, the investigation revealed that the criminal network, possibly active since 2017, was involved in a wide range of illegal activities, including immigrants’ smuggling and the trafficking of drugs and firearms.
“Well-established in several EU and Middle Eastern countries, the criminal network used an unusually long and expensive route to smuggle illegal immigrants from Syria into the EU; starting in Syria, the immigrants were taken via Sudan or the United Arab Emirates toward Libya, from which they were taken to Algeria, before the journey into Europe via the Mediterranean.” Europol said.
