On 6 December, officers from the Nadodrzański Border Guard Unit searched several locations in Zgorzelec and Bolesławiec counties. The result? They secured 98 Polish identity cards, as well as Polish and Ukrainian passports, driving licences (including one forged document), and declarations of intent to entrust work to foreign nationals. In addition, the border guards secured several dozen mobile phones, SIM cards, mobile starter packs and laptops.
The officers also detained three people: two residents of Bolesławiec County (aged 57 and 29) and a 50-year-old woman from Zgorzelec. The men were charged with participating in an organised criminal group involved in arranging the illegal transport of Ukrainian citizens to the United Kingdom, while the woman was charged with leading the group. The 29- and 57-year-old men were placed under a property bond of PLN 5,000, while the group leader was required to pay as much as PLN 30,000.
Border Guard officers from Zielona Góra discovered the illegal operation in 2015. Thanks to official investigative activities and close cooperation with the British police, as well as cooperation with the Border Guard Headquarters and the Border Guard Post in Zgorzelec, the investigators identified the Polish perpetrators of the crime.
First, Ukrainian citizens used declarations of intent to entrust work to a foreign national in Poland to apply for a visa at a diplomatic mission in Ukraine. After obtaining the visa, they entered Poland and, using Polish identity cards supplied to them and selected to “match” their appearance, travelled to the British Isles. Ukrainians paid Poles between 400 and as much as 3,000 euros to organise the journey and provide documents enabling entry to the United Kingdom.
Investigators believe that the group may have arranged the illegal entry into the United Kingdom and Ireland of at least a dozen Ukrainian citizens. Further arrests cannot be ruled out.