Europol says it has dismantled an organized human smuggling network accused of transporting Afghan migrants from Turkey through Bulgaria and Serbia to Western European countries.
The operation was carried out in cooperation with Bulgarian and Serbian authorities and resulted in the arrest of five suspects, including one of the network’s alleged leaders and two police officers.
According to Europol, the criminal group began operating in 2025 and facilitated the movement of Afghan migrants along the so-called Balkan route from Turkey into the European Union.
Investigators said they seized three vehicles allegedly used to transport migrants, along with weapons, ammunition, a radio communication device, multiple mobile phones, €5,700 in cash and 40,000 Serbian dinars.
Europol said migrants reportedly paid around €1,000 to be transported from the Bulgarian border into Serbia, followed by an additional €300 to continue toward the Serbia–Poland border. Much of the money was allegedly transferred through the informal hawala payment system.
The agency described migrant smuggling as one of the European Union’s most significant organized crime threats and stressed that dismantling such networks requires close cooperation among regional authorities and international law enforcement agencies.
