Polish Journalists Finds Man Who Earned Most On Transportation Of Migrants To Belarus

The criminal schemes were linked to the Belarusian authorities.

Polish journalists said they found additional evidence of organized migration flows from the Middle East through Belarus to the countries of the European Union. They were allegedly organized by companies affiliated with the Belarusian authorities.

Consul and businessman

The FRONTSTORY.PL publication claims that 60-year-old Majid Al-Qaysi is one of the key figures in the smuggling of migrants. The businessman, honorary consul of Belarus in Baghdad, is a co-owner or manager of a network of travel companies, and also represents the interests of Iraqi airlines in Minsk.

“The project, which he manages, is dedicated to the movement of migrants to the West. His clients do not go to Minsk, do not shop, do not go to the water park and do not hunt moose. Instead, those led by al-Qaysi companies pay the smugglers a lot of money to cross the border illegally. Today, travel services are a cover for the smuggling of people,” the investigation said.

It is reported that documents found in Poland near the border with Belarus helped to trace him down. In particular, they mention the Belir Group company, which belongs to Al-Qaysi. Among other things, it collaborates with Iraqi airlines Fly Baghdad and Syrian Cham Wings.

Among the documents is the October agreement between the Belir Group and the 32-year-old Syrian Bassel Qassem Al-Qweider on hunting in Belarus with the participation of foreign guests: not far from the White Los recreation center and at the Neman hunting farm. Both bases belong to the Hrodna tobacco factory “Neman”.

Hunting and museums?

The documents show that for participation in the hunting expedition, each participant had to pay Belir Group approximately 430 dollars. Since the documents mention at least 58 people participating in the hunt, about 25 thousand dollars could have been transferred to the company's account. There is also a trophy price list in the appendix to the contract. For example, killing a fallow deer would cost $ 2,300, and a deer $ 5,000.

According to Polish journalists, such a trophy payment formula allows almost any amount to be paid to the company's account, since the opportunity to check whether tourists were really hunting for something is limited.

From other annexes to the contract, they established that a group from the Middle East was supposed to spend 14 nights with breakfast at the Belarus Hotel in Minsk (from October 18 to November 1 this year). Also, tourists were supposed to spend three days hunting and visit the Stalin Line, the Museum of Old Belarusian Culture or the Museum of the Great Patriotic War. A visit to a water park or a shopping trip was also on the program.

However, the Polish journalists assure that the tour program is a fiction, and its participants were taken directly to the Polish-Belarusian border shortly after arriving in Minsk.

How many people were there?

Among the documents found in the forest is a list of passengers on the Cham Wings flight from Beirut to Damascus in October. The list of passengers included 51 people with Arabic surnames. Another document is a list of guests' accommodation in a Minsk hotel. These are the same 51 names and seven more.

The documents were found during the days when the persons indicated in them were supposed to visit the Museum of Old Belarusian Culture or the National Art Museum with a guide.

The journalists also managed to track down one person from that list: 37-year-old Raed Yasser Srour, who was detained in Poland on October 29.

“I paid an intermediary to bring me to Belarus and transport me to Poland and further to Western Europe,” Raed said.

According to him, he only contacted the smuggler through WhatsApp. The smuggler was a Kurd, he introduced himself as Abu Jahiya. The man never saw him, never met him.

What was the route?

The transfer price is 4,500 dollars to Minsk and another 2,500 dollars for a trip from Minsk to Europe, the money should have been left at a Turkish travel agency.

“We took off on October 20 with a Cham Wings flight from Beirut to Minsk. An Arab organized by a smuggler was waiting for us at the airport. He took a group of 20-25 people, including women and children, to the hotels “Minsk” or “Belarus”. We spent one night at the hotel. On October 21st we were ordered to go down in front of the hotel. Two cars with Belarusian drivers were waiting there. There were eight of us, the trip took four to five hours. We stopped and went out into the woods. The drivers showed that we should go forward. We were led by Abu Jahiya over the phone. We came to the border where we cut the net. There was supposed to be a car on the other side of the border, but we couldn't find it. Abu Jahiya instructed us over the phone, but we wandered for three days. Finally we came out onto the high road,” Raed said.

As a result, the group was detained by the Polish police and returned to Belarus.

“We walked for hours. We were transferred to another point. With a group of 40-50 people, we had to cross the border again at the place indicated by the Belarusian. Border guards came across again - dogs, horses, drones. In total, I tried it three times,” said the migrant. In the end, he was detained.

According to Polish journalists, the amount of $ 7,000 he paid to a Turkish firm is approximately equal to the shot deer, and fallow deer.

Where did the money go?

If each of the 58 people who participated in the fictional hunt organized by the Belir Group paid the same amount for the trip, equivalent to shooting a fallow deer and a deer, then the same group, whose documents were discovered, should have brought the participants $ 406,000 in income.

“This price includes the payment of a visa, a commission for smuggler and guide Abu Jahiya, a service fee at the office of a Turkish company, a seat on the Cham Wings plane, accommodation in a Belarus hotel and transport to the border, as well as a car on the Polish side. Belir Group can divide the surplus with the state farm White Los on the basis of a fictitious price list for hunting,” the journalists believe.

They state that they wanted to discuss their findings with the owners of Belir Group, but they did not respond to interview requests.