Polish police detain nearly 2,000 wanted individuals in nationwide sweep, including 117 Ukrainians

Scale of the operation

Polish police, supported by the Border Guard, conducted a nationwide manhunt on 8 and 9 June 2026, deploying 24,503 officers and approximately 650 border guards. The operation was coordinated by the Criminal Bureau of the National Police Headquarters and involved all police organisational units, including the Central Bureau for Combating Cybercrime and the Central Police Investigation Bureau. Officers checked over 900 addresses and carried out more than 1,200 residence legality checks on foreign nationals.

Who was detained

A total of 1,952 people wanted on arrest warrants and court orders were taken into custody. Among them were 169 foreigners sought by Polish prosecutors and courts. Ukrainians formed the largest group at 117 individuals, followed by 12 Georgians, six Belarusians, two Moldovans, one Russian, and 31 citizens of other countries. Four people were detained under European Arrest Warrants and Interpol red notices.

This operation is not only about arrests — it is also a strike against every aspect of criminal activity. Often, wanted individuals do not cease their illegal activities and continue, among other things, to introduce illegal substances into circulation, profiting from it.

Serious crimes and notable arrests

The detainees were wanted for serious offences including rape, drug crimes, participation in organised criminal groups, and trafficking significant quantities of narcotics and psychotropic substances. One Ukrainian national, sentenced to one year and ten months in prison, was found with substantial quantities of marijuana, methamphetamine, amphetamine, cocaine, and MDMA tablets, along with a machete, a baton, knives, and 12,000 złoty in cash. A Polish citizen sought by a court in Bayonne, France, for smuggling 133 kg of marijuana across the French-Spanish border was also arrested. Another Ukrainian was detained under a European Arrest Warrant issued by Germany for involvement in a criminal group organising illegal border crossings for third-country nationals.

Immigration enforcement

A parallel objective was verifying the legality of foreign nationals' residence in Poland. Border Guard officers conducted over 1,200 checks, identifying more than 520 Ukrainians, nearly 170 Colombians, and over 80 Georgians. As a result, close to 140 individuals were detained for immigration violations. Police referred 142 foreigners to the Border Guard for decisions obliging them to return to their countries of origin. Nearly 90 formal return proceedings were initiated, with over 70 cases based on illegal stay and 15 on grounds of posing a threat to state security.

Context and precedent

This was the fifth edition of the nationwide police search operation. The previous sweep took place on 2 and 3 March 2026, when 1,944 wanted individuals were detained, including 147 foreigners.

Nearly 2,000 people wanted on arrest warrants and court orders, as well as 140 foreigners staying in Poland illegally, were detained by police officers in cooperation with the Border Guard. This is another such operation by the services this year.