Police arrest seven suspected smugglers

Police in Germany and Belgium, including special forces, have arrested seven suspected members of a smuggling gang. According to the Traunstein public prosecutor's office and the federal police, several homes were searched during the operation, including in the central Franconian district of Ansbach and in Leipzig.

Almost 300 migrants smuggled

The investigators assume that the gang smuggled almost 300 migrants to Germany in cars, mainly via Austria and Poland. The public prosecutor's office stated that no further details could be provided at present for tactical reasons.

According to the investigators' findings so far, most of the suspected gang members lived in Belgium. Police officers arrested six people there on Tuesday morning on outstanding warrants, and another arrest was made in Germany. When asked where exactly, a spokesperson for the public prosecutor's office was initially unable to say.

Federal police officers noticed a suspect

The investigators were put on the trail of the group by attentive federal police officers. During a check in Freilassing in Upper Bavaria on the border with Austria in September 2024, the officers noticed a stateless driver whose documents seemed suspicious to them.

According to the public prosecutor's office, the investigators initially assumed that he had entered the country without authorization. However, they then found evidence on the driver's cell phone that the man could have smuggled in and dropped off three migrants on the day of the check. The man was remanded in custody. The investigation finally led to the other suspects.

Suspects to be extradited

According to the public prosecutor's office, the suspects are to be extradited to Germany following the arrests in Belgium. A request to this effect has already been made. The investigations by the Traunstein public prosecutor's office and the Freilassing federal police station are continuing. The presumption of innocence applies until a final conviction is handed down.