Eight years' prison for Syrian migrant network chief via French Guiana
A Syrian settled in Épinal, running a travel company, sentenced to 8 years' imprisonment for trafficking 400 to 500 migrants to France via Venezuela and French Guiana.
Syrian migrant trafficking network dismantled: 8 years' imprisonment and €400,000 fine
A court has sentenced to eight years' imprisonment the alleged head of a large Syrian migrant trafficking network, according to reports by Google News MA — Crime (fr). The man, a Syrian in his thirties settled in Épinal, ran a travel company called "La Sultana Tours" and offered his compatriots routes to reach France for between 1,000 and 8,000 euros per person.
The route taken by migrants passed through Venezuela, then French Guiana, before arrival in mainland France. Between 2021 and 2025, between 400 and 500 people were allegedly transported via this channel, according to the prosecution.
A structured operation between Syria, French Guiana and France
The defendant was prosecuted for assisting the illegal entry, movement and residence of foreign nationals in France, in an organised gang — offences committed between January 2021 and August 2025 and punishable by up to ten years' imprisonment. The court followed the prosecutor's recommendations: in addition to the prison sentence, the man must pay a €400,000 fine and is subject to a permanent ban from French territory.
The investigation began in October 2025, following intelligence transmitted to the Office for Combating Illegal Migrant Trafficking in Metz. The investigations then revealed an operation organised from Épinal.
"One of the largest Syrian immigration channels in France"
At the hearing, prosecutor Jean-Emmanuel Besset described the network as exceptional in scale. "One of the largest, if not the largest Syrian immigration channel in France," he stated. According to the prosecution, the 400 to 500 people who used the channel would represent "between 10 and 15 per cent of" Syrian immigration to France over the period in question. Several migrants questioned during the investigation confirmed they had used the network's services.
The defendant claims he was helping his compatriots
During his trial, the Syrian acknowledged working as a travel agent whilst denying he was aware of committing an offence. "I am a citizen who tried to help his compatriots," he stated, speaking through an interpreter, and apologised several times.
Settled in Venezuela since the age of 21 to study law, then having spent time in Brazil, he had eventually come to Épinal to rejoin his wife. Taken into custody in early July, he was held on remand until his trial.
Source: Google News MA — Crime (fr)