The District Court in Białystok has handed down guilty verdicts to citizens of Ukraine, Georgia, and Moldova for smuggling migrants from Belarus into Poland. A total of seven people were charged in the case.
The group’s leaders recruited drivers to transport migrants via the Telegram and WhatsApp messengers. Other members handled additional aspects of the trips, including paying for fuel, accommodation, and food, monitoring the situation in the border area, and warning about increased controls. The cost of the service for one migrant was at least $700.
It was established that between January 2022 and September 2023 the group organized the transport of at least 1,320 people.
A 28-year-old Ukrainian citizen was found guilty of leading an organized criminal group, organizing illegal border crossings, and making threats. He was sentenced to four and a half years in prison, fined 25,000 zlotys, and ordered to forfeit income obtained through criminal activity amounting to 3.3 million zlotys. The remaining defendants — two citizens of Georgia and four citizens of Moldova — were sentenced to prison terms of up to one year and fined. The court’s decision has not yet entered into legal force.
The Podlaskie Border Guard Department noted that some case materials have been separated into a separate investigation. Further arrests can be expected.