Romanian and Bulgarian crime gangs managed to "infiltrate" in important Australian cities and attract a significant decrease in visa leaves to enter the country. East European criminals are the cause of numerous cash machine and card robberies or pick pocketing, which has attracted the authorities' attention, The Herald Sun reads.
Australian Immigration and Citizenship minister Chris Evans declared that his ministry has strengthened "security profiles" for online visa applications coming from Romania and Bulgaria. This means that each request coming from these two countries are checked in greater deal before the final decision is met.
The Herald Sun journalists say that East European criminal gangs, especially those from the new EU members, namely Romania and Bulgaria, are planning their frauds beforehand. They then allegedly fly to Australia to rob their targets. These are the reasons underlining Chris Evan's decision to reject EU the request of Australia lifting the visas for Romanians and Bulgarians.
Victor Bocos, ex-president of the Romanian community from Australia, is presently working in jobs handling migration. He claims that strengthening the tourist visa restrictions interferes with the right of "clean" Europeans to visit Australia. He blames "a small community" of Romanians from the "new generation" that suffered as long as communism lasted, only to join criminal gangs after the fall of the regime.
Australian Crime Commission chief executive John Lawler confirmed worries regarding East-European gangs' involvement in drug traffic and internet frauds. Immigration and Citizenship minister said that 24 Romanian and Bulgarian citizens have been arrested recently in Australia for electronic frauds and organised crime. Romanian and Bulgarian crime gangs managed to "infiltrate" in important Australian cities and attra
