Brussels: Europe and the Arabs
In cooperation between Europol and the German police, Spanish agents conducted house searches in seven places. 19 people were arrested, including 16 Syrians and three Moroccans. They are suspected of transporting Syrian migrants and refugees from coastal cities to the Spanish interior. There, Syrians are housed in unsanitary conditions while waiting for their flight to Germany or Norway.
Noureddine Al-Omrani, an activist in the field of the rights of minorities and Arab communities in the Netherlands, said that the European media was interested in this file and stated that the suspects are just a small cog in the whole. It is said that they are part of an international network of human smugglers operating across three continents: Asia (Syria and Lebanon) and Africa ( Egypt, Libya, Tunisia and Algeria) and Europe (Spain, Germany and Norway).
According to the police, the network charges people who want to leave war-torn Syria a total of 20,000 euros per person to travel to Europe.
A smuggling route across three continents
The smuggling trail begins in Lebanon, where Syrians pay 4,000 euros for a flight from Beirut airport to Egypt. From Egypt, the journey goes overland through Libya and Tunisia to Algeria, where the boat is taken in Oran or Mostaganem to cross into Spain. The cost of the road trip is 3,500 euros, and the trip by sea is required 10,000 euros.
Once in Spain, the Syrians are taken to properties in Madrid, Toledo or Cuenca, where they pay an average of €250 a week until they receive the papers. If they have one, they can either stay in Spain or travel to Germany or Norway. For the last route, smugglers demand about 1,000 euros.
Police believe smugglers organized at least 68 illegal transfers, bringing 550 Syrian migrants and refugees to the European Union.