112 people arrested in a Frontex operation against human trafficking on the Western Balkans route

Border authorities and police from 17 countries have arrested 112 people suspected of human trafficking in an operation coordinated by Frontex on the route between the Western Balkans and Central Europe. In the two weeks of checks, over 3,100 people in irregular migration situations were detected, 60 cases of document fraud, weapons, drugs, and dozens of stolen vehicles.

Border authorities and police from 17 countries have arrested 112 people suspected of human trafficking as part of an operation coordinated by Frontex on the route between the Western Balkans and Central Europe. The action, carried out between June 19 and 29 and co-coordinated by Austria, also led to the identification of 60 cases of document fraud, over 3,100 people in irregular migration situations, and hundreds of results in INTERPOL databases.

In brief

1. Operation Danube 11 led to 112 arrests for suspicions of human trafficking and four arrests for suspicions of human smuggling.

2. Authorities detected 3,137 migrants in irregular situations, denied entry to 2,431 people, and identified 1,109 cases of unauthorized stay.

3. 60 cases of document fraud were discovered and 281 results in INTERPOL databases, of which two were related to Red Notices for human trafficking and smuggling.

4. During the checks, 18 firearms and over 1,665 cartridges were confiscated, and 59 stolen vehicles were recovered.

5. Romania and Moldova were among the 17 participating countries, alongside EU member states, countries from the Western Balkans, and the United Kingdom.

Operation Danube 11 targeted the route used for the movement of migrants from the Western Balkans to Central Europe and combined checks at border crossing points with inspections carried out within the territory. Austria co-coordinated the action together with Frontex, and the information collected each day was transmitted to the Joint Operational Office against Human Smuggling and Human Trafficking in Vienna.

Contact officers from participating states and European agencies compared cases as the operation was underway and were able to quickly relay information to the authorities conducting the checks. Frontex states that this system allowed for the connection of cases that, when analyzed separately at the national level, could have seemed unrelated.

The central result of the operation was the arrest of 112 individuals suspected of being involved in human trafficking. Four other individuals were arrested on suspicions of human smuggling, a distinct crime as it involves the exploitation of victims and not just the facilitation of crossing a border for a fee.

Authorities detected 3,137 individuals in irregular migration situations. At border crossing points, 2,431 individuals were denied entry, and during the checks, 1,109 cases of unauthorized stay were identified.

These figures describe different categories and should not be added together to obtain a general total. Frontex warns that a case may appear in multiple categories, so the published values should be read separately.

Document fraud was another important component of the operation. Authorities identified 60 cases, and checks conducted on individuals and documents produced 281 results in INTERPOL databases.

Two of these results were related to Red Notices for individuals wanted in human trafficking and smuggling cases. Frontex specifies that the results from the databases do not represent an additional number of stopped individuals, as they indicate matches generated following checks conducted by national authorities.

The operation also led to the discovery of forms of crime that do not directly concern migration. Authorities confiscated 18 firearms and over 1,665 cartridges, three kilograms of marijuana, 5,271 kilograms of raw tobacco, and 5,480 packs of cigarettes.

59 stolen vehicles were also recovered, which were returned to their owners or competent authorities. The results show why checks on this route are also used to identify other forms of cross-border crime, given that the same corridors can be exploited by networks involved in different activities.

The operation brought together Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia, along with Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, and the United Kingdom.

Europol, INTERPOL, and Eurojust supported the operation alongside Frontex. The EU4FAST program, funded by the EU to support Western Balkan states in combating human trafficking and smuggling, also participated, and INTERPOL sent two officers from its specialized unit in these crimes.

Danube 11 is the eleventh operation in a series focused on this route and is part of the Western Balkans Task Force, led by Austria. The model involves the simultaneous conduct of intensified checks in multiple states for a limited period and the rapid exchange of results between authorities.

Jewgeni Ilz, an officer from Frontex who coordinated the operation, stated that human trafficking networks operate across borders and that investigators must proceed in the same way. He emphasized that the essential element was not only the number of checks but the ability of the 17 states to see the same situation simultaneously and to react to the information received within a few hours.

Human trafficking and smuggling are treated separately by European authorities. In the first case, a person pays to be transported or assisted in illegally crossing a border, while human trafficking involves the exploitation of the victim and can continue regardless of whether there was a border crossing.

Operation Danube 11 focused on the corridor between the Western Balkans and Central Europe, one of the routes used by trafficking networks to introduce migrants into the EU and move them further between states.

https://2eu.brussels/ro/news/112-persoane-arestate-intr-o-operatiune-frontex-impotriva-traficului-de-migranti-pe-ruta-balcanilor-de-vest