BUDAPEST: The European Union's police agency says 23 suspects have been arrested in raids targeting an organized crime gang that smuggled thousands of migrants into Europe.
Europol says the suspects were detained in simultaneous police operations Wednesday in Greece, Austria, Sweden and Britain. Europol, which helped coordinate the raids, says the gang is believed to have earned nearly 10 million euros by smuggling around 100 migrants per day since operations started in 2013.
The suspects included mainly Syrians and Greeks. The alleged ringleader was arrested in the British city of Liverpool. None of their identities have been released.
Europol says the gang is believed to have smuggled migrants, most of them Syrians arriving from Turkey, through Greece and then via the Balkans to other EU member states. The gang did everything from arranging transport to supplying forged travel documents.
Patrick Abboud