According to the Federal Police, smuggling crime into Germany has increased significantly in recent years. More and more of the suspects caught have German citizenship.
The number of suspected smugglers caught by the federal police has increased significantly in recent years – and German citizens are increasingly among them. This emerges from a response from the Federal Ministry of the Interior to Left Party leader Dietmar Bartsch, which is available to the Editorial Network Germany (RND).
According to the information, the number of people caught by the federal police on suspicion of “smuggling foreigners” rose from 2,132 in 2021 to 2,728 last year. In the current year, a total of 1,683 suspected smugglers were caught by August 31st.
German citizens third largest Suspect group
By far the largest group of suspects in all three years were Syrians, with an increase from 540 cases in 2021 to 599 last year and 263 by September of this year. The number of smugglers from Turkey has also increased, with 285 cases last year and 140 this year (compared to 111 in 2021).
According to the Federal Police, German citizens have also been among the five most frequently recorded nationalities of smugglers since last year. Last year they made up the third largest group with 166 prisoners.
The federal police are also recording a significant increase in smuggling by Ukrainians: this year they are the second most frequently recorded nationality, last year they were in third place with 175 cases – while in 2021 they were not yet among the five most frequently recorded suspects.
criticism of Interior Minister fibers
Left-wing faction leader Bartsch sees Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) as responsible for the increase in smuggling crime. “The number of smugglers has increased sharply since the beginning of Ms. Faeser’s term in office,” Bartsch told the RND. “For far too long the traffic lights have looked the other way and downplayed the warnings from districts and the police.”
The Interior Minister should have acted earlier, explained the left-wing politician and demanded that the federal government “immediately dry up the smuggling industry”. Bartsch also called it “remarkable that many German citizens have discovered this perfidious business.”