The European Police Office (Europol) has arrested 35 people allegedly involved in smuggling Vietnamese people into several European nations, the Tuoi Tre newspaper reported Thursday.

 

Nineteen of the alleged human traffickers were apprehended in France,  eight in Germany and others in the Czech Republic, Hungary, and England. The report said that raids were conducted on Tuesday in all the countries.

 

The paper quoted German police as saying that the gang may have charged each person up to 25,000 euros (US$34,275) for being taken to the country of his or her choice.

 

The gang mainly smuggled Vietnamese immigrants from Moscow to Berlin, from where they would be brought to France or England, the report said.

 

Europol arrested five people in Germany last year on suspicion of being part of a ring smuggling Vietnamese immigrants to Western Europe.

 

In other news, police in the central city of Hai Phong Wednesday said that they have arrested Nguyen Van Dung, 36, for allegedly helping five people to illegally immigrate into Hong Kong.

 

Initial investigations show that in June 2006, the five people asked Dung to take them to Hong Kong for VND8.9 million ($456) each.

 

Dung then brought them to the northern province of Quang Ninh, where they entered China by road.

 

From Shenzhen City, the five swam across a river to enter Hong Kong, while Dung returned to Vietnam.

 

However, one of them died on the way, while others were arrested by local agencies upon arriving in Hong Kong and were deported to Vietnam later last year.