The European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol) has detained 15 people suspected of being members of a criminal network. They are accused of transporting Syrian nationals through Libya, and other African countries into the EU.
Spanish police said on Tuesday that the group’s alleged leader, a Syrian national, was among the detainees.
According to a statement published by Europol, it coordinated the operation with law enforcement from Germany, Norway, and France.
The agency stated that the criminal group used an “unusual and expensive route” to bring its clients to the EU, charging a fee ranging from US$7,000 to $22,000 per person.
The migrants would be transported from Syria to transit countries, then to Libya, and from there to Algeria, where they would board high-speed boats to cross the Mediterranean sea and reach Spain.
EU Authorities have recorded 13 such operations involving over 200 migrants, according to the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP).
Once in Spain, some migrants would stay in the country while others would move on to France, Belgium, Germany, and Norway.
The group is believed to have offered special VIP treatment to those who paid over $20,000. This included being dropped off at a different location in Spain than the other migrants. As well as being driven in luxurious vehicles with heightened security measures.
According to Europol, the criminal group had an extensive infrastructure in Lebanon, Sudan, Libya, and Algeria. It relied on corrupt officials to facilitate the transfer of migrants. In Europe, members of the criminal network were based in Belgium, Germany, and Spain, and they coordinated sea crossings and secondary movements to destination countries from there.
They employed physical and video surveillance of clandestine points along the coast, to ensure that they would not be detected by the police when the boats arrive.
Europol seized two speed boats, six vehicles, electronic equipment, drugs, fuel, phones, over /€500,000 euros in cash, and documents.