DUBAI: Abu Dhabi police have uncovered an international organized crime ring that smuggles people from Asia to Europe through airports in the UAE, the WAM news agency reported.
It said the gang exploited gaps in security and passenger transfer procedures used by some international airlines to smuggle people from Asian countries to Europe.
Maj. Abdul Rehman Al-Saggaf of Abu Dhabi Criminal Investigation Department said the ringleaders were not in the UAE but were running the operation from two other countries in the region.
Saggaf said police had identified two men who were working with European accomplices to find Asians willing to pay 40,000 dirhams ($10,890) to illegally travel to Europe.
He said two passengers had been found aboard a flight planning to swap seats with other passengers in Abu Dhabi with a view to eventually reaching the Netherlands. One of the four suspects was captured by UAE police and investigations revealed that he had trafficked a number of people to Europe via UAE airports over the past year.
The officer said the suspect disclosed the names of other members of the international gang in Asian and European countries adding that efforts are being made to arrest them.
