Five Afghans aged 22 to 29 have been imprisoned in Belgium on suspicion of having exploited Afghan and Pakistani exiles by demanding that they take part in drug trafficking to pay their travel expenses, the prosecutor's office announced on Wednesday July 20. 'Antwerp.
Repay debts related to their trip
As part of an investigation opened at the end of 2021, a police operation on Tuesday targeted the Belgian branch of a network of Afghan smugglers who transported migrants to Europe illegally, by land or sea, according to a press release from the prosecution.
Once on Belgian soil, these Afghan and Pakistani exiles were forced to repay the debts linked to their trip by engaging in "
illegal activities including the resale of drugs
", underlines the prosecution.
The number of alleged victims was not specified.
According to the first elements of the investigation, the principals mainly used TikTok to communicate.
It was the interception of messages on this social network that made it possible to identify and locate them.
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Tuesday morning, on the orders of the investigating judge in charge of the investigation, nine searches were carried out in Antwerp, Lier and Lommel, in Dutch-speaking Belgium (north).
Six suspects were arrested.
One of them was released after his appearance before the judge, while the other five were charged and imprisoned.
These five imprisoned men are all Afghans in their twenties.
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