Europol dismantles networks suspected of smuggling migrants

The European police agency Europol announced on Friday (March 21) that it had supported an investigation, led by French and Spanish police, to dismantle an organized criminal network alleged to have been smuggling migrants between France and Spain.

In their press release, Europol stated that the day of action took place on March 16 and included 19 arrests in the southern French city of Marseille. Police officers searched 17 properties and seized a semi-rigid boat, four vehicles and about 20,000 euros in cash.

Investigations into the alleged network began in November 2022, stated Europol. The group is believed to have smuggled over 1,700 migrants in nearly 500 separate operations. According to investigators, migrants who were smuggled via the network were picked up near train stations in Catalonia, northern Spain, and then transported onwards to the French city of Marseille.

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Turnover believed to have been as much as 427,000 euros

“The smuggling network operated in a structured way to prepare and execute the smuggling activities.” The network charged migrants between 150 euros and 250 euros, depending on where they were picked up and where they were dropped off.

Most of the migrants smuggled are believed to have originated in the Maghreb region of North Africa, but some also came from the Middle East, mainly from Syria, and countries in sub-Saharan Africa.

Europol investigators believe that most of the smuggling happened between May 2023 and August 2024 and led to an estimated turnover of between 250,000 euros and 427,000 euros.

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Operation launched against Channel smuggling network

On March 19, Europol also supported another law enforcement operation in Belgium and Germany.

In this case, the European policing agency was targeting an alleged migrant smuggling network active across the English Channel. Police officers in Italy, Belgium, Germany and the European agency Eurojust were all involved in the investigation and arrests.

According to a press release published by Europol on March 20, investigations found that a criminal network based in Germany was busy smuggling migrants from the Middle East and East Africa across the Channel in “low-quality inflatable boats.”

The day of action led to six arrests, five in Germany and one in Italy, following arrest warrants issued by a Belgian court. Ten Belgian investigators were deployed to Germany to help with the operations.

On March 19, 11 locations were searched, including eight houses and three storage spaces in Germany. Officers seized material including 90 life vests, jerrycans, two firearms and more than 47 electronic devices.

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Network believed to be ‘highly coordinated’

According to investigators, the criminal network had been active since 2023, and had been transporting nautical equipment stored in Germany to France to be used for the Channel crossings. Drivers were recruited for the network via online platforms and helped to move the boats, jackets and other gear between the two countries using modified vehicles with “darkened windows and special compartments for the transportation of the equipment.”

Investigators said they believed the network was “highly coordinated, arranging several trips per day.” Money from the alleged smuggling operations is believed to have been laundered via the Hawala underground banking system, stated Europol.

Just a week earlier, an additional arrest was made on March 10 of an Iraqi national residing in Germany. He was “apprehended at Charleroi Airport in Belgium while attempting to board a flight to Greece,” stated Europol. He was interrogated by investigators and was detained on March 11 on suspicion of human smuggling and involvement in a criminal organization.

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Smuggling networks are ‘increasingly dangerous’ and ‘highly adaptable’

According to Europol, criminal networks smuggling migrants across the Channel are “highly active, increasingly violent and highly adaptable, continuously developing new crossing techniques.”

The smugglers are “using increasing dangerous modi operandi and increasing the risk to life by transporting higher numbers of migrants per boat.”

In 2024, more than 36,000 migrants and 680 boats successfully reached the UK, and the number of lives lost on that route also climbed, to 78 in that year. Since the beginning of 2025, more than 4,000 migrants have crossed the Channel to the UK, more than 2,000 of whom in the past three weeks.

Eurojust and Europol have been supporting police forces in various EU countries to try and investigate and dismantle these operations. Europol has created dedicated funding “to support high-profile investigations and assist participating countries.”

Eurojust helps “facilitate cross-border judicial cooperation by enabling information exchange and aligning investigative efforts.” The agency helps judicial authorities in European countries issue investigation orders and arrest warrants and ensures all the legal instruments are in place for the police to carry out searches and arrests.