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Polish police arrested three members of a smuggling gang of migrants accused of aiding 600 illegal immigrants

Polish authorities have detained three people suspected of illegally assisting in the smuggling of 600 foreigners mostly from Asia and Middle East into Poland.

According to the spokeswoman of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBŚP) Iwona Jurkiewicz, following an investigation, officers have determined that members of this organized crime group helped foreigners stay in Poland illegally.

She stated that the criminals organized documents which allowed the foreigners to apply for work and temporary residence permits. The group was also meant to represent the foreigners during administrative processes with the Polish government.

The spokeswoman of the Vistula Border Guard Unit, Dagmara Bielec-Janas, pointed out that almost 600 foreigners from Pakistan, Syria, Algeria, Iraq, Egypt, Libya, Iran, and India may have illegally resided in Poland thanks to the smuggling group.

Police are also saying that members of the trafficking group may have earned up to €920,000 in total for assisting the foreigners.

Bielec-Janas also explained that three Poles suspected of associating with the group were arrested on May 27 in Warsaw, two men and a woman.

The detained were accused by the prosecutor’s office for participating in an organized criminal group, as well as facilitating the residence of foreigners in Poland with the aim of material benefit.

The prosecutor’s office has decreed that the suspects require a police guard, are forbidden to leave the country, and are not allowed to contact other suspects.

The suspects may face up to five years in prison for their crimes.

The CBŚP explained that these were not the first cases associated with smuggling. In March 2019, authorities detained 16 persons, 13 Poles and three Ukrainians for assisting foreigners to stay in the country illegally. In January, March and April of 2020, 13 additional suspects were arrested.

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