The common thread in this operation was a common starting location at Brussels South Station.
More than 150 police officers were deployed from the Brussels judiciary to round up a network of people smugglers. Taxi drivers from all over the country were recruited to take the refugees to pick-up points. Mapping the network of Albanian criminals was not an easy task for the investigators.
Taxi drivers' cars were also seized during the searches. Hired taxi drivers, mostly of African descent, did not hesitate to ask the customer for extra money for illegal transport. Human trafficking and smuggling are scourges of concern to many international organisations. The police employ detectives specially trained for human trafficking. They look for places where human trafficking can take place.
thread
The common thread in this operation was a common starting location at Brussels South Station. From there they were transported to all places in the interior, but also to Germany, France or the Netherlands, before being collected in trucks along the highways in the car parks. Trafficking in human beings includes recruiting, transporting or taking in and housing people using coercion. These were often truckers of Eastern European descent who, given the low wages, would like to earn some extra money.
Nevertheless, the investigators of the Brussels federal judicial police tracked down the illegal people smugglers. Because no matter how they tried to apply different working methods, all the transports of illegal immigrants had a common point: they all started in or around the Brussels South station. Here and there, the technology also played tricks on the people smugglers. For example, if an appointment between taxi and truck went wrong because the trucker was warned by his boss to leave before the taxi had arrived at the appointment
human trafficking
According to the latter international report of the UNODC (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime), the problem of human trafficking has increased since the corona crisis. The growing social inequality increases economic vulnerability while war creates new flows of refugees.
At the Belgian level, the Interdepartmental Coordination Cell coordinates the fight against human smuggling and trade. In 2022, attention was also paid to the protection of Ukrainian (unaccompanied minor) refugees. In consultation, various actors make efforts to inform refugees about their rights, the provision of assistance and the risk of human smuggling and trade.
In 2021, the police services in Belgium identified 312 cases of human trafficking. The first findings are often made by first-line police services, but certainly also by partners such as the inspection services and hospitals. When there are indications that it concerns serious and organized exploitation, an investigation is launched within the Federal Judicial Police. In 2021, some 95.000 working hours were invested in human trafficking investigations by federal investigators. Tackling human trafficking, organized crime and crimes against physical and psychological integrity are also included as important security themes in the National Security Plan 2022-2025.
