Five people — including two police officers — have been arrested in Serbia over suspected migrant smuggling across the Bulgarian-Serbian “green border.”
Serbian authorities raided five locations as part of an investigation coordinated under a Europol taskforce, with Bulgarian law enforcement also involved, Europol announced on Friday.
One of those arrested was described as a “High Value Target” — a term used by Europol for suspects regarded as key figures — alongside two associates.
The network is suspected of smuggling a large number of migrants between January and July 2026, moving them via Bulgaria through Serbia towards Western European countries.
The group had been active since 2025 and was allegedly focused on moving Afghan nationals, with core members identified as Serbian nationals based in Pirot, in south-eastern Serbia, it said.
Investigators said migrants arriving from Turkey were taken through Bulgaria and dropped near the Bulgarian-Serbian border, where they crossed on foot to pre-arranged GPS coordinates to be collected by members of the group.
The network then provided temporary accommodation and organised onward transport across Serbia.
Cash, vehicles and weapons seized
Three vehicles allegedly used for smuggling were seized during the operation, along with firearms and ammunition, a radio station, mobile devices and cash, Europol said.
The cash amounted to EUR 5,700 and RSD 40,000.
Migrants typically paid about EUR 1,000 per person for transport from the Bulgarian-Serbian border to Belgrade, and around EUR 300 for travel from Belgrade to Serbia’s border with Hungary.
Most payments were made using the hawala system — an informal value transfer network that can operate outside traditional banking channels.
Europol said it supported the investigation by coordinating meetings and information exchanges, deploying four Bulgarian investigators to Serbia with its financial support, and sending an expert to carry out real-time checks against Europol databases on the action day.
