According to the investigation, the perpetrators were aware when crossing the Hungarian-Austrian border that the people in the van were no longer alive.

The gang was run by an Afghan man who had been living in Hungary since 2013, having been granted refugee status.

He and his seven accomplices, all Bulgarian citizens, were arrested within 24 hours of the discovery of the abandoned van on August 27, 2015. Four of them will be charged with murder.

The eight suspects now in custody include a Bulgarian-Lebanese man whose task was to procure vehicles necessary for the people-smuggling.

The unbridled greed of the gang leader led to the death of the 71 people, Lieu. Col. Zoltán Boross of the National Bureau of Investigation told the press briefing, as he was also responsible for cramming 67 migrants into a similar van found one day later.

An international arrest warrant has been issued for three other Bulgarian suspects.

Source: Hungary Around the Clock

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