Smuggling gang broken up in Vienna: Six arrests and large sums of money secured!

Smuggling gang broken up in Vienna: Six arrests and large sums of money secured!

In a large-scale operation against an international smuggling network, six men were arrested in Vienna on May 27th, including five Afghans between the ages of 21 and 54 and a 33-year-old Russian. These arrests are the result of cooperation between the Federal Criminal Police Office and the Styria State Police Directorate oe24.at reported.

The suspects are suspected of being involved in illegal smuggling. The investigation began at the end of 2023 after a Romanian smuggler was arrested on the Styrian-Slovenian border. One of the accused partially confessed, while the others did not comment. All men are now in custody and investigations into the network's financial infrastructure are ongoing.

Smuggling network and hawala system

Those arrested are said to have operated at the highest level of a hierarchically structured smuggling network. Romanian and Moldovan nationals are mainly active at the lower level. The towing prices vary between 10,000 and 20,000 euros, depending on the route and duration of the trip. Investigators found valuable evidence such as cash, gold jewelry, diamonds and modern gadgets during the house searches. What was particularly striking was the discovery of records of foreign transactions that were carried out according to the “Hawala” principle.

The hawala system, which is known as an unbureaucratic and anonymous method of transferring money, is suspected of being frequently used by criminal organizations. According to a UNODC report, hawala is vulnerable to abuse by drug traffickers and smugglers. unodc.org points out that hawala plays an important role for refugees and displaced people, but at the same time carries the risk of being exploited by organized crime groups.

Investigations still ongoing

The challenges of regulating the hawala system are compounded by its closed nature, which complicates investigations into illicit financial flows. The authorities have clearly recognized the need to integrate hawala into a regulatory system. A trial against a trio who are also connected to the hawala system has already begun at the Vienna Criminal Court, but is not directly related to those recently arrested.

With these arrests, the police are sending a strong message against organized crime in Austria and showing how important international cooperation is in such cases. The full investigation is continuing to hold other actors in the smuggling network accountable.