I ROS Carabinieri, with the support ofTerritorial Arm of Bari and Gorizia and Operational Support Team of the 13th Carabinieri Regiment “Friuli Venezia Giulia”, they performed a European Investigation Order requested by theJudicial Authority of Belgium – Court of First Instance of Antwerp.

The measure, recognized by the Public Prosecutor's Office of Bari, led to the arrest of two Afghan citizens, held responsible for the crime of aggravated criminal association for the purpose of human trafficking, according to the charges brought by the Belgian justice system.

International operation and accusations

The operation falls within the scope of the International police cooperation at Europol, which involves:

• il ROS of the Carabinieri,
• la Federal Police of Belgium,
• la UK National Crime Agency,
• other European police forces.

THEOperational Task Force, active in the fight against human trafficking, is monitoring organized armed groups operating along the Balkan route, based on Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

According to the accusations of the Belgian authorities, the two Afghan citizens, although resident in Italy, would be part of atransnational criminal organization dedicated to illegal transfer of migrants in several European countries, with main destinations Belgium and United Kingdom. The activities, often characterized by violence, they even came documented with photos and videos on social networks.

In parallel, others precautionary measures were performed in Belgium and United Kingdom.

It should be noted that the procedure is still in progress preliminary investigation phase. The possible guilt of the accused must be ascertained during the trial, in full compliance with the adversarial principle between the parties.