Syrian migrant smugglers arrested in coordinated strike in Germany and Serbia
europol
A coordinated international operation has dealt a significant blow to two international migrant smuggling networks with close links to Libya and the Western Balkans, leading to the arrest of three High Value Targets in Germany and Serbia. This follows several years of intensive and extensive investigations led by the German Federal Police under the direction of three Bavarian Public Prosecutors’ Offices. The action day, carried out on 5 August 2026, brought together authorities from Germany and Serbia under the framework of an Operational Taskforce coordinated by Europol. Investigators targeted senior members of two interconnected Syrian criminal networks believed to have organised the smuggling of more than 900 migrants into the European Union.
