As a result of an investigation conducted by officers from the Border Guard post in Legnica under the supervision of the Legnica District Prosecutor’s Office, one of the main co-organizers of the legalization of foreigners’ stay in Poland has been arrested.
The 53-year-old Turkish national remains in the custody of the Border Guard. He faces up to five years in prison.
The Turkish national, one of the suspects, had been hiding from the Polish justice system and evading criminal responsibility for a year. He was arrested last week in Hungary thanks to effective international cooperation between law enforcement agencies. Charges will be brought against him this week.
The foreign national was wanted by the Polish justice system on the basis of a European Arrest Warrant. The man is suspected of participating in an international criminal group that legalized foreigners’ stay in Poland, either by using fictitious commercial companies or by arranging sham marriages with Polish citizens.
Members of the group sought out women who were in difficult financial situations and offered them quick and easy earnings, or certified their employment in fictitious companies. Investigators’ findings indicate that the criminals operated in the Lower Silesian Voivodeship for more than a year and legalized or attempted to legalize the stay of at least several foreigners, including nationals of Albania, Turkey, Palestine and Egypt.
In the investigation, a decision to present charges was issued against 15 people.
Border Guard:
So far, as part of the investigation launched in 2017, five people have been arrested and charged—two Turkish nationals and three Poles involved in the criminal group. Nine foreign nationals are still wanted under European Arrest Warrants.