EditRomanian drivers recruited on TikTok to smuggle migrants from Turkey
Romanian drivers are being offered thousands of euros to transport undocumented migrants from the Greek-Turkish border towards Thessaloniki
Romanian drivers looking for work in Greece are increasingly being recruited through TikTok and other social media platforms to transport undocumented migrants from the country’s border with Turkey towards the interior, according to an investigation by Romanian investgative website PressOne, partner of EUalive.
The scale of the phenomenon was reflected in warnings issued by the Romanian Embassy in Greece and the Moldovan Embassy in Bucharest about apparently attractive driving jobs advertised on social media.
Posts on Facebook groups for Romanians and Moldovans in Greece tell a recurring story: a relative leaves for Greece after accepting a driving job advertised online, often on TikTok, and then disappears. In several cases, the last known location is near the Turkish border.
The Romanian Foreign Ministry told PressOne that, as of 15 July 2026, 120 Romanian citizens were being held in Greek detention facilities in connection with migrant-smuggling offences. Of these, 75 had received final convictions, while 45 were still at the prosecution stage. Among those convicted, 39 had received prison sentences of between five and 10 years, one between 10 and 15 years, and five more than 15 years.
The most frequently used routes are in Eastern Macedonia and Thrace, the Greek region bordering Turkey and Bulgaria, according to the ministry.
A job offer with a hidden passenger list
PressOne journalists identified dozens of TikTok accounts offering Romanian drivers apparently lucrative work transporting people across Greece and other European routes.
One investigation involved a reporter creating a fake profile as a Romanian truck driver looking for work in Greece. After contacting accounts recruiting under the hashtag #soferingrecia (driver in Greece), the reporter quickly received offers.
One account, called “Grecia Work”, advertised drivers who could travel at short notice to a location near Orestiada, close to the Turkish border. The route itself would only be revealed after the driver reached the area.
The reporter was told that payments could reach €1,700-1,800 for each migrant transported, with half paid when the passengers were picked up and the remainder after the journey.
The recruitment process involved sending a copy of an identity card or passport, as well as sharing the driver’s live Google Maps location for an entire day. The recruiter also asked for a video of the vehicle and a specific phrase, “Al Brabus Grecia”, which appeared in other TikTok videos showing migrants being loaded into cars.
The recruiter told the undercover reporter that people would be brought from Turkey to Greece by other members of the network. The driver would then receive the precise location and take the passengers to Thessaloniki.
The migrants were reportedly Kurdish people from Iraq. According to the recruiter, they would subsequently apply for asylum in Greece.
The operation appeared to involve several separate roles: people bringing migrants across the border, others transmitting locations and drivers collecting and transporting them. The driver, however, was the person directly behind the wheel and therefore the most exposed to arrest.
The recruiter also described a system for dealing with police intervention, telling the reporter to admit everything and contact him so that a lawyer could be provided. The lawyer, he said, was “one of ours”.
Social media changes the recruitment model
A source working with a law firm handling such cases told PressOne that migrant smuggling involving drivers has existed in Greece for years, but social media has made recruitment significantly easier.
Young people with little experience are particularly vulnerable to offers promising high earnings, a vehicle or accommodation, according to the source. In court, drivers frequently claim that they did not know what they were becoming involved in.
Greek law can result in prison sentences of up to 10 years and fines of €30,000-60,000 for each person transported, with higher penalties for repeat offences, according to PressOne.
The recruitment is not limited to the Turkish-Greek border. PressOne found advertisements seeking Romanian drivers for routes across Hungary, from Hungary to Germany, from Romania to Italy, across Bulgaria and between Latvia’s border with Russia and Poland.
The investigation also comes amid wider efforts by Balkan authorities to dismantle migrant-smuggling networks. In July, authorities in Bulgaria, Greece, the Netherlands and Romania dismantled an organised crime group suspected of moving migrants through the Balkans using rented, stolen and fraudulently registered vehicles.
Recent arrests in Greece have also involved Romanian and Moldovan nationals suspected of transporting undocumented migrants.
After PressOne contacted one of the TikTok recruiters by WhatsApp, that account disappeared. Other accounts identified by the investigation were subsequently removed by their operators or by TikTok following a request from the publication.
Romania’s Foreign Ministry said Bucharest and Athens maintain regular cooperation to protect Romanian citizens and combat migrant smuggling.
The article in Romanian by EUalives partner PressOne can be found here.
Caption: Screenshots of messages on TikTok reading “I urgently need a driver” and “Urgent drivers needed” [PressOne]
Updated: September 21, 2026 - 06:09
