“It is not just about smuggling, it was really lucrative,” the public prosecutor said during an interim hearing today.
One of the two suspects has lived in Hilversum for ten years, the other has a temporary residence permit. Both have now been in custody for six months.
The men are said to have arranged airline tickets, routes, false passports and residence permits for several people. They may also have told them what to say at customs.
These are mainly family members, friends and acquaintances who, according to the Marechaussee’s investigation, helped them illegally enter or pass through Europe. It is not yet clear exactly how many people are involved. 62 IDs of unknown people were found from the phone of one of the suspects, 29 from the other suspect.
‘Too much information’
Eighteen of those people have been traced and interviewed, the public prosecutor said during a short hearing today. “A lot of people are not heard, because there is too much information. It is not possible to investigate it all. It is about human smuggling.”
The military police will continue to investigate the case in the coming months. Today the judge decided that one of the two suspects can await the rest of this investigation in freedom. He would have had a smaller role than the other suspect in the smuggling.
A new short hearing will follow in March.