Raid
Federal police are investigating more than 100 Syrians who were smuggled into the country
During a raid in five federal states – here in Bremen – the federal police discovered several suspected Syrians who had been smuggled into the country. photo
© Hüneke/dpa
The officers arrive early in the morning: As part of an investigation into organized smuggling crime, they search apartments in five federal states – with success.
“All five are also Syrians,” he added. The five arrested are themselves asylum seekers and are all family members. Overall, the alleged gang is accused of smuggling more than 100 Syrians over time.
According to the investigation, the suspected smugglers each paid 3,000 to 7,000 euros for their illegal entry into Germany, the spokesman said. In addition to gang and commercial smuggling of foreigners, the suspects are also accused of money laundering: They used their illegal income to buy gold jewelry, for example. “Then they are no longer sitting on the money,” said spokesman Jörg Martienßen.
As the Federal Police Directorate at Frankfurt am Main Airport announced, more than 350 officers were deployed in apartments and houses in seven municipalities on behalf of the Stade public prosecutor’s office: in Stade, Balge (both Lower Saxony), Gladbeck (North Rhine-Westphalia), Fulda, Kassel (both Hesse), Bremen and Kelheim (Bavaria).
What is already known
According to Martienßen, there are five other suspects without arrest warrants – also Syrians and family members of the five suspected smugglers who were arrested. According to the investigations that began in 2022, Syrians were first flown to Greece, given real passports from compatriots and then brought to Germany via intermediate stops, including by plane.
The alleged gang later switched to the so-called Balkan route, through which the illegal immigrants reached Germany on foot, by car and truck.
According to Martienßen, during the raid that began simultaneously at all locations at 6 a.m., the federal police seized, among other things, cell phones and laptops as well as a suspected smuggling car in Gladbeck. The electronic devices would be carefully evaluated by specialists for further investigations. A search was also underway for “assets”.