Europol announced on Friday the arrest of 382 people at the end of October during a vast international operation which mobilized the police of 28 countries against traffickers operating mainly in the Balkans and in South-Eastern Europe.
At the Bulgarian checkpoint of Kapitan Andreevo, on the border with Turkey, AFP witnessed on October 28 the discovery of a migrant, hidden in the roof of a truck, who saw his dangerous journey stop at the gates of the EU.
One hundred and fifty-nine arrests were linked to migrant smuggling, 112 to drug smuggling, 38 to firearms smuggling and 2 to human trafficking, said the European police office, which coordinated the operation with Spain.
Nearly 2,500 illegal entries into EU territory were detected and 106 firearms were seized, Europol added in a statement.
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The Balkan route, an important logistics hub, sees thousands of trucks entering the EU with different goods, including food and building materials.
The region is widely used for smuggling and smuggling people, firearms and drugs into the EU, Europol said.
The smugglers "
source weapons mainly from Western Balkan countries, where human resources specializing in firearms are widely available
", added Europol.
304 kg of heroin, 147 kg of cannabis, 5402 marijuana plants and 1.3 kg of cocaine
Weapons are often smuggled through these shipments and hidden in vehicles, like drugs, and transported to the EU, mainly to Belgium, France, Germany, Spain and the Netherlands.
“
Drug trafficking and the illegal arms trade are closely linked, particularly in connection with cocaine trafficking networks
,” explained Europol.
Criminal networks can trade weapons for drugs and use them to gain and maintain control over a “
lucrative
” market.
Tens of thousands of vehicles and individuals were checked by the police between October 26 and 29 during this major operation.
Nearly 1,000 places were searched and more than 2,000 packages were checked.
304 kg of heroin, 147 kg of cannabis, 5402 marijuana plants and 1.3 kg of cocaine were seized.
Other European countries have provided information and taken action at the national level.
In total, nearly 16,000 agents took part in actions in the field.
