Colombia dismantles migrant smuggling network to the US and Europe

Nine people were captured in different cities of Colombia suspected of being part of a network that smuggled migrants with false documents into USA and Europeauthorities reported this Friday.

The detainees, including a former civil servant Colombian Migrationcharged between 4,000 and 5,000 dollars to each foreigner, especially Dominicans, so that through fraudulent procedures they could reach their destination countries, according to a bulletin from the prosecution.

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The investigative body will initiate investigations for the crime of migrant smuggling, which in Colombia It is punishable by up to 12 years in prison, in addition to conspiracy to commit a crime and bribery.

The operation was carried out on Monday in partnership with the embassy of states in the cities of Bogota, Medellin (northwest), Cali (southwest), Grass (southwest), among other capitals, specified the immigration authority.

According to prosecutionthe network had been operating since 2018 and made false labor certificates from an alleged US shipping company, among other fraudulent documents.

Several migrants entered USA with the help of this network and remained illegally in that country, added the entity.

More than half a million Colombians emigrated from the country in 2022, according to a report from the Resource Center for Conflict Analysis (Cerac).

In the country of 50 million inhabitants the figure is “the highest since records have been kept”according to that report.

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Source: Elcomercio

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