The investigation carried out by the Roissy border police uncovered a criminal organization suspected of having illegally entered several thousand people into France. Since the start of the year, 26 arrests have taken place and 11 million euros in assets seized.
Several million euros in illegal profits, properties and luxury cars seized, illegal money laundering networks exposed… As part of a vast investigation into a criminal organization smuggling migrants from the subcontinent Indian and money laundering, 26 people have been arrested since March 2024, the border police (PAF) at Roissy-Charles-de-Gaulles airport reported to Agence France Press on Thursday, November 28.
They are accused of belonging to different levels of the criminal organization: from smugglers to launderers to secret financial brokers. “This is the exceptional nature of this case”welcomes the director of the PAF of the Paris airport. These interconnected networks of smugglers, who billed their services between 15,000 and 26,000 euros per head, are suspected of having illegally brought several thousand people from India, Sri Lanka and Nepal into France since September 2021.
“Smugglers facilitated migrants' travel to the European Union via Dubai or African states, while providing them with illegally obtained tourist, work or medical visas”details the director of PAF Roissy, Julien Gentile.
According to the authorities, these networks generated several million euros in illegal profits. Huge sums which had to be reinjected into the legal circuit by laundering networks, structured around construction companies, gold trafficking and the hawala system, informal transfers of money via intermediaries particularly widespread in the Indian subcontinent. In total, 11 million euros of assets were seized, including properties, luxury cars, jewelry and gold.
The head of the network in Dubai
Led by the branch of the Office for Combating Smuggling of Migrants at Roissy-Charles-de-Gaulle airport, the investigation has not yet led to the head of the network, located in Dubai. . The extradition request has not yet had a favorable outcome, according to the PAF.
Among those arrested, 15 were placed in pre-trial detention, seven under judicial supervision and four others, recently arrested, were presented Thursday evening to the investigating judge.
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