Last Updated on 04/09/2024 by Arun jain
German police launched widespread raids early Wednesday morning targeting a suspected people-smuggling ring believed to have helped at least 140 people cross the Balkans illegally in exchange for payment.
A federal police spokesman said the focal points of the operation were the eastern state and the city of Jena.
What do we know about the operation?
Police said 15 of the 19 properties searched were in Thuringia and 10 in Jena.
The individuals brought into the country were initially housed in an apartment there, police said.
It gathered a total of around 340 officers in five states, including special GSG9 units, with searches further west in Baden-Württemberg, Saxony-Anhalt, Schleswig-Holstein and North Rhine-Westphalia.
“The goal of the steps was the discovery and seizure of evidence that could prove the crimes,” Police said about Wednesday’s raid. “The focus was on documents, electronic storage devices, cash and other valuables.”
What the police said about the alleged group and the suspects
Police said five men – three Syrian nationals and two Iraqi nationals – were arrested in Wednesday’s operation. All five were arrested in Thuringia. In which city three were detained, one in Sondershausen and the other in Bad Sulza.
Police said the total cases involved 18 suspects aged between 23 and 57, ranging from drivers to higher organizational levels.
“Investigations indicate that at least 140 people were taken to Germany by the group since December 2022,” police said in a statement. “Smugglers are believed to have demanded around €700 (about $775) for transport from Slovakia to Germany.” For continued transit to Germany’s neighboring country, they will charge an additional €500, police said.
This was done in exchange for payments made through intermediaries using an informal so-called “Hawala” transfer system that is illegal in Germany. Two hawala intermediaries known as hawaldars are among the suspects.
Investigators identified and tracked down the suspects after intercepting several vans, the group’s preferred mode of transportation at the borders.
The main responsibility of Germany’s Federal Police Force, or Federal PolicePolicing Germany’s borders.
The operation comes late, following and amid gains for the anti-migration Alternative for Germany (AfD) party on Sunday.
msh/nm (AFP, dpa)
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