Lubuska Border Guard officers arrested five men. They are the latest suspects in an organized criminal group smuggling foreigners from Poland to European Union countries, mainly the United Kingdom. Earlier, the group’s leader, 44-year-old Dariusz C., was arrested and temporarily detained. Six other people have already been charged.
The five arrested men are residents of Jelenia Góra, Łęknica, Zawidów and Bolesławiec. Prosecutors suspect that their task was to transport illegal immigrants to western Poland and then help them illegally cross the border into Germany or the Czech Republic.
The case, handled by the Organized Crime Division of the District Prosecutor’s Office in Jelenia Góra, is developing and involves multiple threads. It has been established that from September 2006 to May 2007, the perpetrators smuggled several dozen Ukrainian citizens. The gang members forged identity cards and passports for them. The foreigners paid €1,000 per person for this service.
Police are searching for the remaining members of the gang, including those who forged the documents. The suspects face between six months and eight years in prison. The gang leader, meanwhile, could spend as many as 10 years behind bars.
(information from the District Prosecutor’s Office in Jelenia Góra/GA)