Bulgaria's DANS, Europol Bust Suspected People Smuggling Ring

Bulgaria's State Agency for National Security (DANS) in cooperation with Europol and German and Dutch law enforcement authorities arrested five people suspected of human trafficking on Wednesday.

The suspects are alleged members of a pan-European criminal network dealing with illegal immigration, false documents, counterfeit money and drugs.

The international operation Casablanca was initiated by German authorities, who arrested four of the suspects, while the fifth was detained on Bulgarian territory.

More than 250 police officers, including special units, took part in the joint action on Wednesday.

The investigation was launched in March 2014 against a Bulgarian-Turkish criminal group residing in the German state of Saxony.

The criminal group was suspected of distributing falsified documents and aiding illegal immigration, mainly into Germany.

The forged documents were sold for EUR 2000, while EUR 3500 were requested for counterfeit visas.

The criminal group is suspected of organising human trafficking via two routes – through Bulgaria's land border with Turkey or directly by air from Turkey into Germany.

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