First conviction in the case of 100 Syrians whose illegal migration to the EU was organised by a criminal group from Moldova: fine of 55 thousand lei and a minibus confiscated

The Prosecutor’s Office for Combating Organised Crime (PCCOCS), “South” office, announces on Friday, 18 August, the conviction of a man from Ceadir-Lunga for organising the illegal migration of Syrian citizens to Austria and Germany.               

The Comrat court convicted the man for organizing illegal migration. As he admitted his guilt according to the law, the court reduced his sentence and ordered him to pay a fine of 55 000 lei and banned him from transporting passengers outside Moldova for the next four years. As for the minibus in which the Syrians were transported, at the request of the prosecutors, it was confiscated for the benefit of the state.                      

According to a statement issued by the PCCOCS, this is the first conviction in the case of around 100 Syrian citizens whose illegal migration to the European Union was organised by the criminal group under investigation, of which the defendant who has now been sentenced was also a member.                          

The man is from Ceadâr-Lunga and is 39 years old. He pleaded guilty to participating in the scheme of the criminal group dismantled in 2022, initially investigated by prosecutors of the Romanian Directorate for the Investigation of Organised Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT), who teamed up with PCCOCS prosecutors. Specifically, the man was involved in two cases of organising illegal migration.                    

In the first case, the convicted man crossed the border out of Romania in a minibus registered in Bulgaria carrying 10 Syrians, among whom he himself was listed as a passenger, although in reality he was helping to organise their illegal migration.               

Just a month later, the convicted person transported two Syrians in the boot of a car registered in France when entering Hungary. In order to ensure the success of their operations, the criminal group used other cars as an advance guard to alert them to the presence or checks of the police along the route.                    

Migrants would be trafficked in small groups of 6-10 people and the price for the smuggling activity varied between €5,000 – €8,000 per person (depending on the distance travelled and the segment of the journey offered).              

Three other people have been sentenced and the prosecution of other accomplices is continuing, says PCCOCS.