Moroccan-Led Migrant Smuggling Ring Dismantled in France

It all started with a report from the delivery company DHL. The latter noted, as early as October 2022, an abnormal influx of shipments containing Tunisian passports from Serbia and destined for several addresses in the Île-de-France region. This led to the opening of an investigation for multiple offenses: aiding and abetting illegal entry and stay in an organized gang, human trafficking in an organized gang, money laundering... The French police of the OLTIM in coordination with Europol discover that it is a vast criminal network that organized the massive transport of Tunisian migrants to France. It is led by "the powerful Serbian clan " El Tetwani " or "Tetouani", in reference to the Moroccan city of Tétouan, where its leader is from," says Le Parisien.

This mafia is based in a border area in northern Serbia, where they would be known for "the violence of their methods," Courrier International reported in an article dated October 2023. The investigation reveals that the candidates for French exile left the Maghreb, particularly Tunisia, and then headed to Eastern Europe to "muddy the waters." To carry out its "activity", the network relies on the collaboration of logistics providers responsible for recovering the packages containing the passports, money collectors remitted by migrants and money launderers, as well as document forgers, and hosts in France.

The investigation resulted in the arrest by the OLTIM police of 13 individuals. After being taken into custody and questioned, ten of them were brought before an investigating judge in Paris. Among them is a pregnant woman at an advanced stage who would be the wife of a network leader. She will be indicted and placed in pre-trial detention on Thursday. She would also be a Tunisian singer known for several clips, notably filmed in Serbia and published on YouTube. Her lawyer, Julien Roelens, says he has "urgently filed appeals against this disproportionate measure given the end of pregnancy." After their appearance on Friday, the nine other suspects are likely to be in turn brought before the investigating judge and placed in pre-trial detention.