The National Prosecutor’s Office of Poland has announced charges against several dozen suspected participants in a human trafficking network on the Polish-Belarusian border, which was suspected of financing armed groups such as Hezbollah, according to a statement from the prosecutor’s office.
A joint investigation by the prosecutor’s office and the department for combating organized crime in the Lublin Voivodeship led to charges being brought against 36 citizens of Poland, Ukraine, Iraq, and Belarus.
According to prosecutors, the network was involved in organizing illegal migration of Iraqis, Syrians, and Palestinians across the Polish-Belarusian border towards the German border.
The investigation also uncovered transfers totaling at least $30 million to accounts associated with Lebanese Hezbollah and Palestinian jihadist groups, as well as over $13 million to a website subject to US sanctions.
The suspected leaders of the network in Poland are said to be Ahmad R., a Syrian residing in Germany, and Mohammed A., known as Abu Yosef. Both are also suspected of involvement in smuggling Yemeni, Syrian, and Iranian migrants through the Balkans. According to the Polish prosecutor’s office statement, Ahmad R. was arrested on April 23rd.
