Three suspected Syrian people smugglers have been arrested in Germany and Serbia during a coordinated operation targeting two networks believed to have brought more than 900 migrants into the European Union.
The arrests were made on 5 August 2026 as part of a joint action by German and Serbian authorities working in an operational taskforce coordinated by Europol, the EU police service announced on Thursday.
One suspect was arrested in Saarbrücken, Germany, and two were arrested in Belgrade, Serbia, on international arrest warrants issued by Germany.
German police also carried out six searches in the Saarbrücken area and seized evidence that is now being forensically examined.
Investigators believe the two interconnected networks operated along the Central Mediterranean and Western Balkan migration routes, with links to Libya and the Western Balkans.
Routes, fees and alleged profits
One network allegedly arranged sea crossings from Libya to the Italian island of Lampedusa using overcrowded and unseaworthy boats carrying up to 61 people without life jackets or other safety equipment, Europol said.
Migrants, mostly Syrian nationals, are believed to have paid between €6,500 and €7,800 per journey before being moved onwards to Germany via other smuggling networks.
Investigators estimate this network generated at least €875,000 in illicit profits, and one suspect was repeatedly found with suspected counterfeit euro banknotes worth between €30,000 and €100,000 during the investigation.
A second network, based in Serbia, allegedly charged between €2,000 and €10,000 per person to move migrants from Serbia via Hungary and from Bosnia and Herzegovina via Croatia into the EU.
From there, migrants were transported in cars, vans and lorries through Austria, Czechia, Poland, or Slovakia before reaching final destinations in Germany and other Western European countries.
The suspect arrested in Saarbrücken is a 26-year-old Syrian national believed to have organised the smuggling of at least 125 migrants across five journeys since October 2024.
In Belgrade, Serbian authorities arrested a 31-year-old Syrian national suspected of coordinating at least 17 smuggling operations involving more than 150 migrants between April and November 2022, and a 32-year-old suspected of playing a key logistical role in moving at least 625 migrants through Serbia towards Western Europe between 2023 and 2024.
Five other alleged members of the second network were arrested in coordinated actions in Germany, the Netherlands and Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2025.
The investigations were led by the German Federal Police under the direction of three public prosecutors’ offices in Bavaria.
