KTFA: Samson: Europol dismantles a network smuggling Iraqis from Kurdistan to Europe via private planes
16th September, 2022
The European Union Police Agency (Europol) announced on Friday that members of a gang smuggling migrants were arrested on private planes from Kurdistan, to Turkey and then Europe, using forged diplomatic passports.
The authorities confiscated two planes, a luxury car and equipment used to issue false identity papers during raids carried out in Belgium and Italy on Tuesday, according to “Europol”. “It is believed that between October and December 2020, five smuggling operations were carried out in five different European countries,” it said in a statement. The migrants, most of them from Iraq, including Kurds, boarded a private plane in Turkey with forged diplomatic passports.
The agency said that flights usually go to the Caribbean islands, but passengers never reach those destinations. “During the stations in various European airports, including Austria, France and Germany, the migrants left the plane, got rid of their forged passports and applied for asylum,” she added.
The criminal group has set the cost of the operation at up to 20,000 euros ($20,000) for each person smuggled. It is also suspected of issuing forged checks, defrauding airlines to establish their fleet, and defrauding hotels by not paying bills.
The suspects face charges of migrant smuggling, document forgery and money laundering. The raid was carried out in coordination between “Europol” and its judicial arm “Eurogast”, European police services and US law enforcement agencies.
According to private sources, these immigrants are wealthy and affluent people in Kurdistan, including the children of officials, who have a lot of money. LINK
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Samson: Including a fugitive who was re-arrested.. 75 years for 5 Iraqi employees who embezzled billions
15th September, 2022
Today, Thursday, Salah al-Din Criminal Court announced the sentencing of 5 employees to 15 years in prison, including an employee who fled the court to Kirkuk, was arrested and returned to the court.
A government source told Shafaq News Agency, “The Salah al-Din Criminal Court issued a 15-year prison sentence for each of the 5 employees who were arrested on charges of wasting public money and embezzling 7 billion dinars,” noting that “among the convicts is called (Q. N) who works an employee in the Planning Department of the Office of Salah al-Din Governorate.
The source confirmed that “the accused (Q. N) will be referred to the court again on other charges, after he escaped two days before the Salah al-Din Criminal Court and was arrested again in Kirkuk in coordination between the security services and the National Security.”
Yesterday, a security source in Salah al-Din told Shafaq News that an employee accused of embezzling 7 billion dinars had been arrested after escaping from the Tikrit court towards Kirkuk.
The source confirmed that the security forces, in coordination with the National Assembly in Kirkuk, arrested the fugitive suspect in Al-Zab district and took him to Tikrit to complete the necessary investigation and judicial procedures. LINK
