Warning, this episode contains descriptions that some listeners may find distressing.

I remember that this was a sunny morning when the report came that this refrigerator lorry was spawned close to the Hungarian border

and it was not clear how many people may have died in this cargo bay.

I did this job since 2002, human smuggling.

In my time, I have experienced many difficult situations throughout my service.

This event has certainly left its mark on me as a human being.

The human smuggling OECs have to be taken very seriously and no authorities should spare the time to detect these hostages.

Welcome to the Europol podcast, the official podcast of the EU Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation.

In this series, we shine a light on some of the biggest operations Europol has supported and how we continue to fight crime.

Today's episode, Halting People's Mugglers.

It's the mid-2010s, and Europe is experiencing a major refugee crisis following the escalation of the war in Syria. Hundreds of thousands of people fleeing desperate circumstances are seeking shelter and refuge in EU member states.

While authorities saw this as a humanitarian crisis, organized crime groups saw an opportunity.

And so, a criminal market for migrant smuggling services sprang up.

Multiple smuggling routes, using often dangerous transport methods, began to be exploited by organized crime groups.

The price set by the criminals was in the thousands,

forcing travelers to call in money from friends and family

for a journey they may not even survive.

In this episode, we're going behind one of the saddest

and most difficult cases of the refugee crisis.

This is the story of the Bergenland Corps' discovery.

Most of the people were walking along the West of Balkan route through Serbia, reaching the Hungarian border.

And at the time, this OCG were operating from Ketchkamed, which is between the Serbian border and Budapest halfway.

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