Status: 05.07.2022 1:15 p.m
Police authorities in several European countries have carried out large-scale crackdowns on human smugglers. The focus of the operation was in Osnabrück. More than 100 people were arrested.
A large contingent of around 900 emergency services has carried out raids in several federal states against international smuggling crime. The focus of the operation, which was coordinated with simultaneous police actions in other European countries, was in Osnabrück, said a police spokesman. Officials arrested suspects at several addresses in the city, in the surrounding area and in the neighboring North Rhine-Westphalian municipality of Lotte. They are suspected of illegally smuggling people across the English Channel to Britain.
According to the information, there were also searches and arrests in other places in Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia, Bremen and Baden-Württemberg. Numerous rubber dinghies, which were allegedly intended to be used to illegally transport refugees, were seized. The spokesman initially gave no information on the number of people arrested in Germany.
Pistorius pleased with “successful blow”
At the same time, the police are searching in France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Great Britain, it said. The judicial and police authorities Eurojust and Europol coordinated the operations. Around 130 suspects have been arrested across Europe, according to Eurojust. 22,500 police officers were involved.
Lower Saxony’s Minister of the Interior, Boris Pistorius, was pleased “with this successful strike against this perfidious form of crime with the significant involvement of the Osnabrück police department”. The transnational police work ultimately led to success. This shows that cooperation at European level is becoming increasingly important.
Police in northern France catch people smugglers
Several illegal attempts by migrants to cross by boat to the UK have been stopped in northern France. In addition, 48 people were rescued from distress in the English Channel, according to the authorities. During the night, officers stopped a car after a chase near Boulogne-sur-Mer. Inside were seven migrants. The two suspected smugglers were arrested. Also during the night, police officers near the beach at another location prevented an attempted crossing. A dinghy and equipment were confiscated.
A week ago, French police arrested 15 suspected smugglers who are said to be linked to the deaths of 27 migrants when their boat sank seven months ago. As the newspaper “Le Parisien” reported, those arrested are said to belong to an Afghan smugglers’ network, which is said to have collected around 3,000 euros per person for the dangerous crossing.
For years, refugees have been camping near Calais in order to get to Great Britain from there. From the beginning of the year to June 13, 777 attempts to cross the straits in small boats were registered, as the French interior ministry recently announced. A total of 20,132 people were involved, an increase of 68 percent compared to the same period last year. There was already talk of record numbers for 2021. 52,000 people tried to cross the English Channel, 28,000 succeeded according to the French ministry.