The perpetrators tried to “disperse” up to a hundred illegal migrants in various European countries, who were divided into separate groups, according to the SBU statement.
The SBU and Polish partners last year detained several members of the human-trafficking operation on EU territory, the SBU said without specifying where. The organizer of the illegal migration corridor was detained later in the western Ukrainian city of Khmelnytskyi, the agency said.
“He has been extradited to Poland, where he was on an international wanted list. There, the foreigner will be held responsible for crimes committed against European security,” the SBU said.
Earlier this month, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that Poland is facing a hybrid war in illegal migration from Belarus, adding that the Polish government is planning to bolster fortifications all along its eastern border with Ukraine, Belarus and Russia.
Poland in 2021 accused Belarus of letting thousands of undocumented migrants through the border into the EU. Belarusian officials have denied the charge, even though illegal migrants themselves admitted that the Belarusian government forced them to storm the border with Poland and even gave them tools to cut fences.
