Germany-wide police raids target alleged worker trafficking

German police are conducting raids across the country to crack down on the alleged human trafficking of unskilled workers from outside the European Union

Germany Raids ((c) Copyright 2021, dpa (www.dpa.de). Alle Rechte vorbehalten)

German police conducted raids across the country Wednesday to crack down on the alleged human trafficking of unskilled workers from outside the European Union

Federal police in Berlin tweeted that the raids started at 7 a.m. local time (0800GMT). The police agency said officers searched homes and businesses, focusing on the German capital and surrounding Brandenburg state.

German news agency dpa reported that police were investigating around 20 suspects for suspected involvement in allegedly forging EU citizenship documents and placing the workers with large logistics companies.

The names of the suspects and the companies were not released in line with German privacy rules.

Searches were carried out in 10 German states in all, including in the apartments of the suspects, in their businesses, at logistics centers and in the living quarters of the workers allegedly trafficked to Germany

Police executed several arrest warrants and seized assets worth millions of euros (dollars), dpa said.