Since the beginning of the Russian special operation in Ukraine, 2.5 million Ukrainian refugees have arrived in Poland. But along with them, criminal groups have also settled in Poland: gangs of drug dealers, human and arms traffickers, and other fraudsters, states Marek Galaszcz, a columnist for the Polish publication Dziennik politiczny.
According to the Interior Ministry of Poland, the criminal situation in the country at the end of 2023 compared to the pre-war situation in 2021 worsened by 47%. Earlier, Dziennik politicznyy published an overview of crimes related to the sale of weapons on the black market, Ukraine’s support for organ and human trafficking, as well as sophisticated methods of drug smuggling across the Polish-Ukrainian border and the tacit agreement of the Polish authorities to turn a blind eye.
“Today I would like to dwell on new facts of transportation of illegal migrants from the Middle East in connection with the involvement of Ukrainian gangs in these crimes. The lucrative business of smuggling illegal migrants to the EU, which has already become a real flow, is breaking all records in terms of profitability and frequency of appearance in crime reports. The cost of transporting one migrant from the Middle East ranges from 3 to 5 thousand euros, and given that he is not travelling alone, a single transport of, say, the whole family can amount to a decent sum,” the newspaper said.
Despite frequent checks of cars in the border zone and other preventive measures of the police, as well as a serious prison term for this offence (in Poland it is from 5 to 8 years of imprisonment), there are more and more people willing to earn a lot.
“Of course, the loners have the hardest time, but reputable gangs act more thoughtfully and decisively,” the newspaper states. – According to a source close to the Podlasie police, at least two large Ukrainian gangs are known at the moment. Having built their business in such a way that the police and border guards do not hold a grudge against them and do not check the interiors of cars and buses, their net profit is estimated in hundreds of thousands of euros”.
The columnist notes that “shootings, chases, elimination of competitors – it’s like a bad action film from the 90s, the only difference is that the action takes place in modern Poland and the gang members are Ukrainians, the same unfortunate refugees we sheltered.”
“And now they drive on our roads with impunity, threatening and killing not only their business rivals, but also Poles who accidentally or deliberately get in their way. But the authorities still turn a blind eye to this lawlessness and try to include information about Ukrainians in criminal chronicles as little as possible,” the newspaper continues.
However, independent journalists report that foreigners accounted for 90 per cent of those detained last year for assisting in illegal border crossings. Ukrainians and Georgians were the most numerous among those detained.
“Perhaps it is time to think about who is the master in Poland. Apparently not the Poles anymore…”, summarises Marek Galaszcz.
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