On 18.05.2022, the prosecutors of the Directorate for the Investigation of Organized Crime and Terrorism - Arad Territorial Office, together with the judicial police workers from the S.C.C.O. Arad and border police officers from TIBP Timişoara and Oradea, carry out a number of 37 house searches, within the counties of Arad, Timiș, Cluj, Iași and Caraș Severin within an action aimed at dismantling an organized criminal group specialized in migrant trafficking and high-risk and high-risk drug trafficking.
In fact, it was noted that in August 2021, in the area of Timiş County, an organized criminal group was set up, consisting of 41 members, which has so far acted in the western part of Romania in order to commit the crime of trafficking of migrants.
Thus, members of the criminal group recruited migrants from the Middle East, who had illegally crossed the Romanian border from Serbia and Bulgaria, and who were taking refuge in Timiş County, especially in Timişoara, waiting for the right moment to cross the Romanian border illegally Hungary.
The migrants were taken by the members of the organized criminal group from Timișoara and transported by their cars or rented minibuses, to the state border of Romania with Hungary, within Arad County. Subsequently, they were guided by members of the group to cross the state border fraudulently, with the final destination of the migrants being Austria and Germany.
The criminal activities were carried out by the members of the organized criminal group in order to obtain important material benefits.
Also, between January and May 2022, some members of the organized criminal group held and sold, without right, high-risk drugs (cocaine in exchange for an amount of 100 euros per gram and amphetamine in exchange for an amount of 150- 180 lei for one gram) and dangerous drugs (cannabis in exchange for 50 lei per gram), to consumers in the counties of Arad, Timiş and Caraş Severin counties.
At the headquarters of the Directorate for the Investigation of Organized Crime and Terrorism - Arad Territorial Office, a number of 44 people will be taken for questioning, who are suspected of being involved in carrying out criminal activities.
The action is supported by the S.C.C.O. Arad, Timişoara Border Police Territorial Inspectorate, Timiş Border Police Territorial Service, Deta Border Police Sector, Arad Border Police Territorial Service, Vărșand Border Police Sector, B.C.C.O. Timisoara, B.C.C.O. Cluj, B.C.C.O. Iasi, S.C.C.O. Caraş Severin and the Timiş County Police Inspectorate, as well as the gendarmes from the Timiș County Gendarme Inspectorate, the Mobile Gendarmes Group “Glad Voievod” Timişoara, the Arad County Gendarme Inspectorate and the Severandara County Gendarme Inspectorate.
The specialized support was provided by the Special Operations Department.
Please note that throughout the criminal proceedings, suspects and defendants benefit from the procedural rights and guarantees provided by the Code of Criminal Procedure, as well as from the presumption of innocence.
