In the fight against organized smuggling crime, officials are searching apartments in Lower Saxony and Berlin. The smugglers are said to have brought over 200 people illegally across the border.
Major raid in two federal states: The federal police arrested two men during searches in Berlin and Lower Saxony for suspected organized smuggling crime.
An arrest warrant was executed against the 23-year-old main suspect from Berlin – the officers found the man in Garbsen near Hanover, a spokesman for the Hanover public prosecutor’s office said on Thursday. The 40-year-old second man, against whom there was an Austrian arrest warrant, was also caught by the investigators in Lehrte near Hanover.
The predominantly Iraqi group of perpetrators is accused of at least twelve smuggling trips between August 2022 and June 2023. At least 208 people, mainly of Syrian nationality, are said to have been smuggled in during this time. The exact number of people smuggled on three trips is still unclear, said the spokesman. The operation initially continued in Garbsen.
The raid with around 260 federal police officers began early in the morning in Berlin and the greater Hanover area. In addition to Berlin and Hanover, the cities of Celle, Garbsen, Hemmingen, Laatzen, Lehrte and Neustadt am Rübenberge were affected at the same time. There was also a search warrant for the 40-year-old’s business premises in Peine, as the spokesman for the prosecution said. A total of 14 properties were searched, including 8 in Lower Saxony and 6 in Berlin. The perpetrators are accused of having smuggled foreigners into the European Union on a commercial and gang-related basis.
The alleged perpetrators are said to have transported the people “with unsuitable vehicles” – in the loading area, without a break or food, in great heat and in great fear, as the spokesman said. There is a suspicion that the suspected smugglers collected 4,000 to 5,000 euros per person and smuggling trip. The smuggling trips led via Hungary to Austria, the Czech Republic and Germany. A spokeswoman for the Federal Police said that there had been serious injuries during such trips in vans with people crammed into the hold.
During the searches, various data carriers such as cell phones, laptops and storage media were seized, and two firearms and “other items prohibited under the Weapons Act” were also found. According to the information, the investigators hope that the evaluation will further shed light on and dismantle the smuggling network. In addition, life-threatening smuggling should be prevented.
“The hours-long, cross-border transport of people who are literally crammed together in a very small space in the loading area is probably the most dangerous and at the same time inhumane modus operandi of smuggling crime,” said operations manager Helgo Martens. “It was all the more important to prevent further acts by the accused with today’s operation.”
Source: Stern
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