Southeast Europe I 35
bne March 2013
Europe's soft underbelly of crime Andrew MacDowall in Belgrade
W
ith its mountainous landscape concealing remote valleys, indented coastline and position between Europe's east and west, the Balkan Peninsula has all the makings of a smugglers' paradise. Add to this widespread poverty, a history of conflict and, these days, weak institutions and rule of law in many parts, and it is easy to see why the region is plagued by organised crime. The problem was brought sharply into focus on January 29 as 1,200 Europol officers made simultaneous raids in ten countries, swooping to arrest 103 people in the biggest operation against a migrant smuggling network in EU history. The EU's law enforcement arm was acting against suspected members of a criminal network based in Kosovo, with strong links to Turkey's underworld.
The raids, in Croatia, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Turkey and Kosovo, involved 117 properties. More than â‚Ź176,500 in cash, as well as computers, mobile telephones and a rifle with ammunition were seized. Europol said that those arrested were suspected of involvement in smuggling illegal migrants into and within the EU from countries including Libya, Iraq and Syria, via Turkey and the Balkans. "They were often smuggled in inhuman and dangerous conditions, such as in very small hidden compartments in the floors of buses and trucks, in freight trains or in boats," the agency said. Officials said that the organisation had been "significantly disrupted", and that around 20 remaining unknown members would be tracked down.
Hidden problem The grim fate of many trafficked migrants is no secret. The deaths of 16 who drowned in the River Tisza while attempting to cross from Serbia into EU member Hungary in 2009 highlighted the issue; in 2000, 58 Chinese migrants were found suffocated in the back of a lorry at the British port of Dover. The majority who survive often work in dreadful conditions for miniscule wages, exploited by employers; some women are forced into the sex industry. There are also concerns that jidhadist terrorists could use the Balkans as a conduit to Europe, and there are allegations that training camps exist in some of the more remote areas, particularly in predominantly Muslim regions – though there is scant evidence of substantial operations. Last year, Russian media claimed that Syrian rebels were being trained in Kosovo.