France smashes South Asian migrant trafficking ring, 26 arrested

French authorities arrested 26 people and seized €11 million (US$12 million) as they smashed a migrant trafficking ring suspected of bringing several thousand people from South Asia into France, border police said on Thursday.

Charging between €15,000 and €26,000 per person, the traffickers are suspected of having smuggled several thousand people from India, Sri Lanka and Nepal into France since September 2021, the force said.

Authorities estimate the network generated several million euros in illegal profits, which were laundered through construction companies, gold trafficking and informal transfers of money back to South Asia.

The arrests took place between March and November 2024, said Julien Gentile, director of the French border force at Paris Charles De Gaulle airport.

“The smugglers facilitated migrants’ travel to the European Union via Dubai or African states, while providing them with illegally obtained tourist, work or medical visas,” said Gentile.

The head of the network is still at large, with France’s request for his extradition from Dubai yet to be agreed, according to the border force.