In Berlin and Brandenburg, the police carried out a raid against a suspected smuggling gang. A man was arrested. The background is the accident involving a smuggler’s car in Saxony.
The police in Berlin and Brandenburg carried out a raid against a gang of smugglers on Tuesday morning.
According to rbb information, around 140 federal police and around 80 police officers from other federal states were deployed in several locations. According to the information, three arrest warrants were executed against a Syrian and two Germans in Berlin-Lichtenberg, Luckenwalde (Teltow-Fläming) and Dallgow-Döberitz (Havelland). A fourth suspect is already in custody. The operation is under the leadership of the Potsdam public prosecutor’s office.
Weapons, drugs and a large amount of cash were also seized during the raid.
A gang of ten people in total is accused of commercially smuggling people into Germany. Some of the group are also said to have traded drugs. The accused are said to have trafficked people on the back of transporters via the Balkan route under inhumane conditions. One of the suspected smugglers, a 30-year-old man, was arrested in Lichtenberg. He should primarily
participated in the organization. In some cases he is said to have driven the vehicles himself.
In Berlin, rooms in Reinickendorf, Neukölln, Treptow-Köpenick, Tempelhof-Schöneberg and Lichtenberg are to be searched. In Brandenburg, searches are underway in Ortrand (Oberspreewald-Lausitz), Luckenwalde and Dallgeow-Döberitz.
The accused are said to have smuggled in 60 people
The group is accused of four smuggling cases, with around 60 people said to have been smuggled. The group has been under investigation since April.
The accused are also said to have been the perpetrators of the smuggling that made national headlines at the beginning of June: in Taubenheim, Saxony, a van with refugees on board drove into the Spree during a chase [tagesschau.de]. The 17 refugees between the ages of twelve and 24 were sitting unsecured in the cargo area of the van. Six people were injured.
Broadcast: rbb24 Inforadio, November 7th, 2023, 7:41 a.m
