WARSAW: Twenty-four suspected people smugglers were arrested during an international operation coordinated by Frontex, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, along with Austria and Germany.
Known as Joint Action Day (JAD) Dual, the operation targeted cross-border crime in the Western Balkans region and at selected border crossing points at EU’s eastern border. It focused on the detection of facilitated illegal immigration and smuggling in excise goods. Its specific aim was to enhance the cooperation between EU member states and authorities at non-EU countries involved in the fight against cross-border crime, especially related to illegal immigration, stolen property and goods smuggling. In addition to the arrests of suspected people smugglers, 761 irregular migrants were detected and 119 people were refused entry. The authorities also recovered 19 stolen vehicles.
During the operation also smuggled cigarettes, alcohol and drugs were detected, along with weapons and ammunition. The intelligence collected during JAD Dual will be used in investigations into criminal networks involved in migrant smuggling. Frontex-coordinated European Border Guard Team Members deployed at selected border crossing points at EU’s external land borders participated in the action along with customs authorities from several member states, Europol and Interpol experts.
The JAD Dual was coordinated under the umbrella of the European Multidisciplinary Platform against Criminal Threats (EMPACT). JAD Dual is one of many joint action days taking place this year, which collectively are called Operation Dragon 2017. They bring together police and law enforcement authorities of EU member states, European agencies Frontex and Europol, as well as Interpol.
A coordination centre was set up in Vienna to bring together liaison officers from member states dealing with migrant smuggling and trafficking in human beings and support investigations.
The operation took place in Austria, Germany, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Bulgaria, Romania, Greece, Slovenia, Czech Republic, Serbia and Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.
