Europol has dismantled a criminal network responsible for smuggling Vietnamese migrants into Europe, with the United Kingdom as the final destination, the agency announced.
The operation, carried out on March 30 and led by France, resulted in eight arrests and the seizure of passports, vehicles, and cash. Among those detained was a key figure in the network, arrested in Germany under a European arrest warrant. Another organizer had previously been apprehended in Hungary ahead of the coordinated raids.
According to Europol, migrants entered the Schengen Area through Hungary using short-term visas or residence permits, before flying to France. Once in Paris, they were temporarily housed and later transported to the northern coast, where a Kurdish-Iraqi group facilitated their crossing of the English Channel in small, often unsafe boats.
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“The members of this smuggling network organized the entire journey, including logistics, accommodation, and transport, relying on drivers and accomplices,” Europol said in a statement. The group is believed to have moved at least 15 migrants per month, charging up to €22,000 per person for the journey.
On the same day, a separate trafficking network operating between Vietnam, France, and the United Kingdom was also dismantled, leading to 19 arrests—16 in France and three in the UK.
The dangers faced by Vietnamese migrants attempting such journeys were tragically highlighted in Essex lorry deaths, when 39 people were found dead in a refrigerated truck while being transported to the UK in October 2019.
