An organised crime group involved in smuggling illegal immigrants into Europe has been dismantled by Hungarian Police, working in cooperation with Europol.
Three key suspects, two Romanians and one Hungarian, were arrested on Tuesday in an action coordinated by the Hungarian National Bureau of Investigation.
The criminal network has been involved in smuggling more than 150 illegal immigrants, of Pakistani, Afghani, Turkish and Palestinian origin, into Austria and Germany via Hungary. They used one of the well-known Balkan illegal immigration routes, stretching from Greece through the former Yugoslavian countries.
Europol provided support to this operation by facilitating the exchange of criminal intelligence from the start of the investigation, and specialists assisted with analytical and forensic services.
Parallel investigations are ongoing in all the affected countries to identify other members of the smuggling ring, and Europol will continue to support these countries in bringing the criminal network to justice.