Bruges’ Council Chamber on Tuesday extended by one month the detention of two persons charged with human-trafficking after the discovery of several victims, including children, in refridgerated shipping containers.
In March, five Iraqis, among them two children aged four and seven, were discovered in such a container at Zeebrugge. Barely a month later at the same port, an Iraqi family, including a woman and a three-year-old child, was found. The group had set out from the Tournai region and were heading for the UK.
Investigations by marine police showed that the trafficking ring operated from Froyennes car park, on the E42. Last week, two Kurds aged 34 and 40 were arrested there.
The two men appeared before Bruges’ Council Chamber on Tuesday.
A 34-year-old Iraqi man was also arrested in the Netherlands in connection with the same investigation. His extradition has been requested.
The office of the public prosecutor of West Flanders noted that the trafficking ring did not hesitate to smuggle young children and a pregnant woman. “They were transported in brand-new cars and in active refrigerated containers, creating dangerous situations,” said prosecutor Frank Demeester.
