Six Arrests: Crackdown on Smuggler Network in Vienna

Six men - five Afghans aged between 21 and 54 years and a 33-year-old Russian - were arrested at the end of May in their apartments in Vienna. They are alleged to have been involved in the organization and execution of illegal smuggling, according to the Ministry of the Interior on Sunday.

The arrests took place in the early morning hours of May 27, ordered by the Vienna Public Prosecutor's Office, in a coordinated action in cooperation with the Foreign and Border Police Department Spielfeld. The six men are said to be members of a strictly hierarchical network. At the lowest level, mainly Romanian and Moldovan nationals acted as smugglers, who, upon probation, rose to more responsible organizational roles, the ministry announced. A Romanian participant who had already been convicted stated that after numerous smuggling operations carried out by himself, he was later responsible for the organization and provision of vehicles. With the profits from these activities, he was able to acquire real estate in France and Romania, according to the investigators.

Arrested Operated at the Highest Organizational Level

The men now arrested operated at the highest organizational level. They particularly utilized their origin and existing networks to Afghanistan, the starting point of many smuggling operations via the so-called Balkan route - Turkey, Bulgaria, Greece, Serbia, Romania, Hungary to Austria. The price per smuggling ranged between 10,000 and 20,000 euros, depending on the route and duration.

"The fight against the smuggler mafia continues to be conducted hard and consistently despite a massive decline in apprehensions. International cooperation is a decisive factor in this. I thank all the investigators involved in the operation," said Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (ÖVP).

Cash, Jewelry, and Diamonds Secured

During the simultaneous house searches, investigators secured evidence, including large sums of cash, gold jewelry, diamonds, numerous mobile phones, tablets, and laptops. Particularly helpful was the discovery of records of foreign transactions according to the so-called "Hawala" principle with one of the arrested Afghan citizens. It is suspected that this man played a central role in handling the criminal financial flows.

The operations were conducted with the involvement of specialized units such as the Directorate of Special Units/Task Force Cobra Vienna, the Department for Special Units Wega, as well as canine units from the state police directorates of Vienna and Styria. "I congratulate all the deployed forces on this remarkable investigative success. The operation impressively demonstrates how efficiently and committed our top-trained teams work together - networked, professional, and with full dedication," said the director of the Federal Criminal Police Office, Andreas Holzer.

Investigations began at the end of 2023

The trigger for the investigations was the arrest of a Romanian smuggler at the Styrian-Slovenian border towards the end of 2023. Through meticulous investigative work, the network was reconstructed and dismantled step by step.

One of the six accused partially confessed to having paid smuggling wages as part of his Hawala transactions and, as an employee of a mobile phone shop in Vienna, handed over mobile phones and other accessories for smuggling trips to the drivers. The other arrested men are currently not confessing. Pre-trial detention was imposed on all the accused at the request of the public prosecutor's office. The investigations, particularly into the financial infrastructure of the network and other involved persons, are ongoing. Just on Friday, a trial began at the Vienna Regional Criminal Court against a trio who allegedly handled hundreds of smuggling trips through their establishment using the Hawala system. However, this group has nothing to do with those now arrested.

(APA/Red)

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