A couple living in Dresden is said to have organized over a dozen smuggling operations into Germany since November 2022. The 36-year-old and the 38-year-old were arrested in the Saxon state capital on Wednesday on the basis of existing arrest warrants. The Dresden public prosecutor's office and the federal police are investigating them on suspicion of gang and commercial smuggling of foreigners. The suspects, two rejected and tolerated asylum seekers from Lebanon, are in custody.
According to the authorities, the man is suspected of organizing 15 smuggling operations involving at least 87 mainly Syrian nationals to Germany, in four of which the woman is said to have been involved as an accomplice. Both had organized the trips mainly via Belarus and Poland and collected a total of 390,000 euros. They did not take any action themselves.
During the search of their shared apartment in Dresden, various items of evidence such as electronic storage media and smartphones were found and are being analyzed. They also seized 7,300 euros in cash, a vehicle worth around 15,000 euros as well as watches and gold jewelry. 55 officers from the federal police were involved in the operation.
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