The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) has announced the dismantling of a network of illegal immigrants of African origin trafficking from Russian territory to the countries of the European Union and that it has managed to profits of 60 million rubles (just over 580,000 euros) from 2021.
The group was led by a Nigerian citizen identified as P. Lumumba, who was a professor at the RUDN Engineering Academy, and included other Russians, Ukrainians and Nigerians, the FSB said in a statement.
This network was specialized in organizing the entry and transit of people of African origin from Russia to the EU through “tricks” in which They celebrated sham marriages to be able to hand over paternity of children of Russian citizens and thus obtain a temporary or even long-term residence permit, all in exchange for financial compensation.
“Within the framework of the criminal case initiated by the Main Investigation Directorate of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia in Moscow, 25 searches and inspections have been carried out in the Moscow and Vladimir regions, and more than 25 witnesses have been questioned,” the document reads.
The authorities also have been seized a “significant amount” of immigration documents, national passports of Nigerian citizens, electronic communication devices and personal computers, as well as funds “obtained through criminal means.”
«Three Russian citizens (originally from the Moscow region) who had been held and illegally exploited by criminals for a long time were discovered in one of the houses in the Vladimir region and were handed over to police officers. Currently, the organizer and five active members of the group are being held. have been arrestedinvestigative actions are being carried out against them and preventive measures have been chosen for them,” the FSB added.
