WB PaCT boosts law enforcement cooperation in the Western Balkans to tackle migrant smuggling

Migrant smuggling is a profitable business for criminal networks, with an estimated annual turnover reaching multiple billion euros worldwide. Smugglers use land, sea and air routes to facilitate irregular migration both into and within the European Union. Migrant smuggling is, therefore, one of the crime priorities of the European Multidisciplinary Platform against Criminal Threats (EMPACT). At the same time, it is also identified by CEPOL’s WB PaCT project as a crime area where law enforcement authorities of the Western Balkans require training to tackle this phenomenon more effectively.

To this end, the project team organised a training in Vienna for 29 officials from six Western Balkans beneficiaries, particularly police investigators and prosecutors tackling illegal immigration. During the activity, titled Criminal investigations of poly-criminal groups dealing with migrant smuggling, participants shared their diverse experiences and best practices with each other.

Reflecting on the benefits of this training, Atanas Ginev, Chief Inspector of the Ministry of Interior of the Republic of North Macedonia, noted:

Elaborating further on the importance of international cooperation, Danijela Trajković, Higher Public Prosecutor from the Republic of Serbia, added:

The training was organised in partnership with Europol, with the support of the Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs, Frontex, Austria and Croatia.

About WB PaCT

The Partnership against Crime and Terrorism project in the Western Balkans (WB PaCT) aims at enhancing the capacities of the authorities in the Western Balkans to fight organised crime and terrorism including preventing and countering violent extremism by enhancing cooperation within the region and with the EU. For more information, please visit the project page.