The European Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation

1. Unaccompanied minors and challenges in the digital domain on agenda at annual meeting on migrant smuggling

   From November 20-21, Eurojust hosted its eighth annual meeting on migrant smuggling. The meeting, organised by Eurojust’s Anti-Trafficking Team, brought practitioners together to discuss the latest operational and strategic developments in the field of combatting migrant smuggling.

2. Action against criminal network smuggling Syrian migrants via Balkan route: 29 arrests

   Eurojust and Europol have assisted the German authorities with the coordinated takedown of a smuggling network, which was illegally transporting Syrian migrants via the Balkan route. In total, 29 suspects involved in the smuggling of at least 750 migrants to Germany and the United Kingdom were arrested. Twenty arrests were made yesterday during a coordinated action. Last month, the Serbian authorities already arrested and charged nine suspects involved in the same organised crime group (OCG).Eurojust also supported Germany, Poland, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Serbia in setting up and financing a joint investigation team (JIT), in operational partnership with Austria, to investigate the criminal network.

3. International cigarette trafficking ring dismantled: 15 arrests

   Eurojust, Europol and authorities from 10 countries stopped a criminal group operating an intricate cigarette trafficking scheme. The authorities discovered a Polish group active in cigarette trafficking and investigations connected a counterfeit cigarette factory in France to another international criminal group involved in the operation. Fifteen suspects were arrested on Tuesday morning in a joint operation involving five countries.

4. Laboratory seized and ten arrests in operation against Albanian-led cocaine trafficking gang

   Albanian authorities arrested ten alleged members of a drug trafficking network over the weekend in an operation supported by Eurojust. A sophisticated cocaine-processing laboratory was also seized in Albania. The members of the Albanian organised crime group (OCG) were involved in the transport of cocaine from Latin America via Italy to Albania, from where it was trafficked to several European countries.

5. Precious archaeological vases and coins returned to Italian museum with support of Eurojust

   Eurojust has supported Italian authorities with the return of over 2 500 precious ancient coins, vases and small sculptures that had been illegally excavated and later sold in Switzerland. Last Friday afternoon, the treasures from the ancient city of Cales, dating from the third century BC and the eight century DC, were officially presented in the National Archaeological Museum of Santa Maria Capua Vetere.