Migrant trafficking ring dismantled: The “HAWALA” method – The “hideouts” in Athens

A transnational criminal organization was dismantled, which was systematically transporting foreigners to our country, settling them in apartments in the center of Athens and then promoting them, for a monetary fee, to European destinations, by the Directorate of Economic Police.

As part of an organized police operation, which took place yesterday in various areas of Attica, 9 members of the organization and 3 illegal immigrants were arrested. A case file was filed against them for the case-by-case offenses of criminal organization, forgery and violations of the immigration and social integration code, while the file filed includes 19 more people.

According to ELAS, the investigation showed that the members of the organization, acting with a different composition each time, were systematically active in the illegal transportation of foreigners from abroad to our country.

For their temporary stay, they ensured the provision of accommodation in areas of the center of Athens and then provided them with forged travel documents and facilitated their transportation from Greece to other states of the European Union (Italy, Germany, France, Austria, etc.) via the airport.

In addition, by taking advantage of the operation of legitimate businesses providing financial intermediation services, which were managed by two of the members of the organization, they created an appropriate infrastructure, so that the illegal income was traded covertly with off-bank transactions.

These businesses operated as an informal money transfer system (“HAWALA” method) serving the purposes of the organization for the movement of money. In fact, the transactions were carried out through online applications, so that it becomes difficult to trace them.

According to the police, the organization followed a specific modus operandi to achieve its criminal activity:

• “Issuing tickets to different passenger details than the real ones, making it extremely difficult to identify them,
• transportation of trafficked foreigners to the airport by taxi and city buses, so that they take advantage of the crowding,
• the members of the organization would change clothes inside the airport to avoid being detected and mislead the prosecuting Authorities, and in the event that foreigners were not allowed to pass during the boarding control, the members of the organization would be removed
• the communications between the members of the organization, as well as with the traffickers, were carried out exclusively through online applications and audio messages”.

During the searches carried out in storage areas, businesses and vehicles, travel documents (residence permits, asylum cards, driving licenses and debit cards of banking institutions), 88,475 euros and 3,215 Turkish liras, photographs of individuals, a car, boarding passes, were found and confiscated. mobile phone devices and portable storage devices (USB).

Those arrested, with the case filed against them, were taken to the competent prosecutor’s office.

View the news feed and get the latest news.