Belgium dismantles large human trafficking network

Police in Belgium and the UK have dismantled a large gang of human traffickers, leading to the arrest of 10 suspects in Belgium and two in the UK, various Belgian media report. The traffickers are accused of smuggling about 20 undocumented passengers across the Channel every day by lorry.

The mostly Kurdish and Iraqi criminals are believed to have smuggled as many as 3,000 refugees in to the UK since May last year. According to Belgian media, it is the largest organisation of human traffickers ever dismantled in the country.

The refugees reportedly paid €2,000-€3,000 per person to the gang to be picked up in parking lots along Belgian motorways, especially the E40 and the E17, and smuggled into the UK. According to the East Flemish prosecutor, the refugees were often put in life-threatening situations, such as in the back of air-tight, refrigerated trucks.

All arrested migrants are transferred to the local police for fingerprints before being handed over to the Immigration Department or taken to a closed detention centre.