Five Arrested Over Afghan Migrant Smuggling Across Bulgaria-Serbia Border

Europol said it has dismantled a suspected human smuggling network that transported Afghan migrants from Türkiye through the Balkans to Western Europe, following a joint operation with Bulgarian and Serbian authorities that resulted in the arrest of five suspects, including an alleged ringleader and two police officers. In a statement issued on Friday, Europol said the criminal network had been operating since 2025, organizing the movement of Afghan migrants from Türkiye into Bulgaria before facilitating their transit through Serbia and onward to Western European countries. The operation was carried out in coordination with law enforcement authorities in Bulgaria and Serbia as part of broader efforts to combat organized migrant smuggling. According to Europol, investigators arrested five suspects, including the network’s alleged leader and two serving police officers accused of assisting the smuggling operation. Authorities are investigating the officers’ suspected role in facilitating the movement of migrants across the route. During coordinated searches, investigators seized three vehicles allegedly used to transport migrants, firearms, ammunition, a radio communication device, multiple mobile phones, approximately €5,700 in cash and 40,000 Serbian dinars, which authorities believe are linked to the criminal operation. Europol said migrants reportedly paid around €1,000 to be transported from the Bulgarian border into Serbia, followed by an additional €300 for transportation toward the Serbia-Poland border. Most payments were allegedly made through the hawala informal money transfer system, which is widely used for cross-border financial transactions outside the formal banking sector. The agency described migrant smuggling as one of the European Union’s most significant organized crime threats, noting that criminal groups continue to exploit vulnerable migrants seeking to reach Europe through irregular routes. Europol said close cooperation between national police forces and international agencies remains essential to identifying and dismantling transnational smuggling networks. The Balkans remain one of the main transit corridors for migrants and asylum seekers attempting to reach the European Union. Afghan nationals have continued to make up a significant proportion of people using the route following Afghanistan’s political and economic upheaval since 2021. European authorities have intensified efforts in recent years to disrupt human trafficking and migrant smuggling operations, warning that organized criminal networks often expose migrants to dangerous journeys, violence and exploitation while generating substantial illicit profits through cross-border trafficking. The post Five Arrested Over Afghan Migrant Smuggling Across Bulgaria-Serbia Border appeared first on Khaama Press.