Romanian, U.S police bust illegal immigration ring

Romanian and U.S authorities arrested a group of criminals engaged in facilitating the illegal migration of Romanians to the United States, the international media reported March 26.

“Migrants were helped to illegally reach the Mexican cities of Cancun and Mexico City, and after the payment was made, they were taken over by other group members and transferred to the U.S, to Los Angeles or New York,” prosecutors in the case told Romanian news agency Romania-Insider.

The arrested individuals reportedly made some USD 1 mln by helping more than 600 people to illegally cross borders from Romania to Mexico, and then travel on to the U.S.

The group, which was based in southern Romanian city Craiova, charged some USD 8,000 per person. Most of their clients comprised of the Roma ethnic minority.

Authorities discovered the crime ring when some of its clients were forced to beg or steal after not being able to pay for their immigrations.