Overview

• Prosecutors have indicted four Syrian nationals aged 28, 32, 35 and 44 for human smuggling resulting in death, attempted manslaughter, instigation to murder and money laundering, with the 35-year-old alleged to have been a key leader in Germany.
• Between 2022 and 2024 the group is accused of conducting at least 129 operations along the Balkan route, moving 797 migrants from Syria through Serbia, Hungary and Austria into Germany and other EU states.
• Migrants reportedly paid fees ranging from €4,500 to €12,000 per person, netting the network over €3.3 million in proceeds.
• Prosecutors allege two women died of exhaustion on a foot crossing from Belarus to Latvia as part of these smuggling activities.
• The Landgericht Traunstein will decide whether to formally accept the indictment and proceed to trial after the suspects’ November arrest in a coordinated international operation.