8 Syrians and Romanians Arrested for Smuggling Migrant Workers to Europe with Fake Visas

Eight Romanian and Syrian nationals involved in smuggling migrants from Bulgaria to Romania and then to Western Europe have been arrested in a joint operation by the Romanian Police and Europol.

This criminal group, based in Bucharest and using Timisoara as a hub, facilitated the transport of migrants to Western Europe. The suspects recruited migrants from the Middle East, primarily Syria, who sought to reach Germany.

The leader of the network, a Syrian national residing in Romania for three years, maintained strong connections with other key organizers in Istanbul, Türkiye. He served as a regional coordinator for migrant smuggling activities along that route, recruiting Romanian nationals, typically private taxi drivers, to transport the migrants.

Europol revealed that Romanian authorities uncovered five smuggling incidents involving 70 irregular migrants transported in trucks hidden among goods. Migrants paid between €5,000 and €10,000 for complete smuggling services to their final destination.

In a related case, Europol previously arrested 12 individuals in Romania, mainly Romanian and Pakistani citizens, who operated through companies in Romania, providing false work visas to migrants from Bangladesh, Egypt, and Pakistan. Fake visas were suspected to have been obtained from fraudulent authorities. Further investigations revealed several Romanian companies managed by locals linked to the criminal group were involved in obtaining work permits and visas fraudulently. The Union applied for 509 work permits in Romania, 102 of which were approved.

Immigrants with illegal visas entered Romania illegally, with 76 believed to have moved to other EU countries. They paid between €5,000 and €6,000 to enter Romania and an additional €2,000 to €5,000 to move to other EU countries. The criminal organization is estimated to have accumulated illegal profits exceeding 1 million euros.

Last year, 1,222 individuals were forced to return to their homeland from Romania, with Bangladeshi citizens topping the list, approximately 400 of whom were deported.

By fLEXI tEAM