A joint operation led by German and Belgian investigators resulted in the arrest of seven suspects on Tuesday, May 13th, with six of those apprehended in Belgium. The raids, which included residential property searches, were announced in a statement by the Traunstein public prosecutor’s office and the Federal Police in Freilassing, Bavaria.
The smuggling network is believed to have facilitated the illegal entry of approximately 300 migrants into Germany and other EU countries between 2022 and 2024. The migrants were reportedly transported in regular vehicles, using routes that passed through Poland and Austria into Germany. This crackdown follows similar operations elsewhere in Europe, including Spain and France.
The raids come amid a tightening of migration policies in both Germany and Belgium. Belgium’s new federal government, led by the New Flemish Alliance (N-VA), has introduced what Prime Minister Bart De Wever has called the country’s “strictest migration policy yet.”
The Belgian government also aims to better align its asylum policies with neighboring countries to curb “secondary migration.” In 2024, asylum requests in Belgium reached a 10-year high, with nearly 40,000 applications—half of which came from individuals already registered elsewhere in the EU.
