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In a coordinated operation across three countries, eight individuals were arrested, including one in Hungary. The ringleader remains at large.
A Vietnamese criminal gang was the target of an international investigation involving law enforcement and judicial authorities from France, Germany, and Hungary, the police statement said.
The gang is suspected of operating in multiple European countries, advertising its services on social media specifically to Vietnamese citizens seeking to reach the United Kingdom. The migrants entered the Schengen Zone using short-term visas or residence permits issued by Hungarian authorities, then flew to France, where they crossed into the United Kingdom in small inflatable boats with the help of a Kurdish-Iraqi smuggling network active in northern France.
The gang organized the entire journey, providing accommodation, drivers, and assistants. A shadow banking system between Europe and Vietnam facilitated the movement of funds, ensuring liquidity for operations and the repatriation of illicit profits.
The network is believed to have smuggled at least 15 migrants per month, charging up to EUR 22,000 per person for the full journey. Estimates suggest the gang’s earnings may have reached EUR 3 mln in recent years.
Hungary’s KR NNI participated in the international investigation, uncovering that two Vietnamese members of the network — including the ringleader and a direct subordinate — may be in Hungary.
French authorities issued international arrest warrants for both and requested assistance in locating, detaining, and searching their residences.
The subordinate returned to Hungary from Dubai on March 24, where officers from the Budapest Airport Police Directorate detained him at Ferenc Liszt International Airport. He was arrested based on the warrant, and investigators conducted searches at his properties the following day. A court ordered his extradition detention, and he was handed over to French authorities on Wednesday.
The whereabouts of the ringleader remain unknown, and he is still wanted under an international arrest warrant, according to the statement.
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