Pole suspected in Vienna Airport smuggling ring
PR dla Zagranicy
Nick Hodge
26.05.2015 17:13
A Polish citizen is among six security staff at Vienna Airport to have been arrested under suspicion of smuggling people out of Austria.
Vienna International Airport. Photo: Wikimedia Commons/K.Gruber
The suspects worked for private security firms used by Austrian Airlines (AUA) to handle passport and ticket controls at boarding gates.
Air tickets were apparently bought by suspects in friends' names, then the tickets were handed over to migrants waiting at the airport.
Allegedly, between the autumn of 2014 and February 2015, ten such operations were organised.
Most of the men smuggled through customs were apparently Sri Lankans, and they were transported to destinations including the United States and the United Kingdom.
Apparently the smugglers were paid between EUR 7,000 and 9,000 per migrant. (nh)
Source: PAP/AFP