Spraying the tug gang in Vienna: secure six arrests and high sums!

Spraying the tug gang in Vienna: secure six arrests and high sums!

In a large-scale campaign against an international tractor network, six men were arrested in Vienna on May 27, including five Afghans aged 21 to 54 and a 33-year-old Russian. These arrests are the result of a cooperation between the Federal Criminal Police Office and the State Police Directorate of Styria, such as OE24.AT reported.

The suspects are suspected of being involved in illegal towing. The investigation began at the end of 2023 after a Romanian tractor was arrested on the Styrian-Slovenian border. One of the accused was partially confessed, while the others did not comment. All men are now in custody and the investigation into the financial infrastructure of the network has not yet been completed.

tractor network and Hawala system

The arrested are said to have acted on the highest level of a hierarchically structured tractor network. Romanian and Moldova citizens are particularly active on the lower level. The towing prices vary between 10,000 and 20,000 euros, depending on the route and duration of the trip. The investigators found valuable evidence such as cash, gold jewelry, diamonds and modern devices during house searches. The discovery of records on foreign transactions that ran according to the “Hawala” principle was particularly striking.

The Hawala system, which is known as an unbureaucratic and anonymous method for money transfer, is suspected of being used by criminal organizations. According to a UNODC report, Hawala is susceptible to abuse by drug dealers and smugglers. unodc.org points out that Hawala plays an important role for refugees and displaced persons, but at the same time also carries the risk of being exploited by organized groups of criminals.

Investigations continue to be underway

The challenges in regulating the Hawala system are reinforced by its closed nature, which makes it difficult to investigate illegal financial flows. The authorities have clearly recognized that the integration of Hawala into a regulatory system is necessary. A trio process against a trio that is also connected to the Hawala system has already started at the Vienna Court of Criminal Court, but is not in direct connection with the recently arrested.