The office of the Vietnamese Embassy in Germany (Photo: Steinach)

Shortly after some German newspapers reported on German police’s investigation into a network smuggling Vietnamese people into the country on March 3, the embassy liaised with the country’s federal police to learn about the issue.

Accordingly, on early March 3, about 700 German police raided 32 sites in seven states of Germany, namely Berlin (22 sites), Hessen, Sachsen, Niedersachsen, Rheinland-Pfalz, Baden-Württemberg, and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.

The probe targets 13 suspects, and six key ones have been arrested. About 30 others were taken into temporary custody to verify their identities and residency status.

Police also seized many evidences in the search, according to the embassy.

The investigation has been conducted since June 2019 by the Berlin prosecution agency and Germany’s federal police, with support from the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol) after German police found a truck carrying illegal Vietnamese migrants on the border with the Czech Republic in December 2018.

The embassy also cited German police as saying that the ring brought at least 155 Vietnamese by road into Germany from other European countries. The smugglers charged each migrant 5,000-20,000 USD which was paid in Vietnam.

The smuggling was arranged via travel, export-import and recruitment companies in Germany, Romania and Vietnam.

The Vietnamese Embassy added it is contacting relevant agencies of Germany for further information about the Vietnamese and updates on the case. It also has asked local authorities to arrange visits to the Vietnamese nationals for the embassy’s representatives and discuss cooperation in illegal migration prevention./.VNA

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