Desperate Syrians Pay €7,000 to be Smuggled into Germany

Millions of Syrians have fled to Europe over the years because of the ongoing war in Syria that has destroyed their houses and families. And thousands more continue to look for ways to get to neighboring countries to start life afresh. 

Desperate Syrians pay human traffickers or smugglers €3,000 to €7,000 to get into Germany.  Over the months, the Spanish National Police and German Federal Police have cracked down on such groups smuggling migrants into Europe. Last month, the Europol busted a network. It said the criminal network is suspected of organizing over 68 illegal transfers, and smuggled more than 550 Syrian migrants into Europe. 

Syrians Pay Thousands to Get Out

Officials seized smartphones, computers, memory sticks and five vehicles and €10,000 in cash, as well as documents. Europol said the migrants were trafficked from one country to another. The collection was arranged through criminal profits via the Hawala banking system. According to Europol, the total price of the journey from Syria to the final destination in Europe is more than €20,000. 

Those keen to escape the war-torn country pay €4,000 to travel from Lebanon to Egypt and €3,500 to get to Algeria through Libya. 

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Latest Raid in Germany

In the latest raid, German authorities believe the smugglers bought gold with the money. They found more than a hundred Syrian illegal migrants in apartments and other buildings. The search operation involved more than 350 German police officers. 

The raids were focused on cities and towns in northern and western Germany, as well as in Bavaria. They arrested five suspects, three in Stade and two in Gladbeck. Officials said the five are Syrian asylum-seekers who are already living in Germany. 

On September 18, German police found 27 Syrian migrants in the cargo area of a Mercedes van, which was driven by a 15-year-old Syrian boy. These migrants had come in through Poland. And last week, 320 migrants were intercepted by the German police. The migrants were attempting to cross into Germany from Poland. 14 smugglers were arrested. 

About 15,000 refugees and migrants, as per federal police, were found at the 460-km long border between Poland and Germany in the first seven months of 2023. They said this year there has been 2.5 times more unauthorized border crossings than the same period in 2022.