German police launched mass raids Tuesday targeting a trafficking ring accused of fraudulently using Syrian refugees’ residency documents to enable compatriots to come to Germany.
Around 1,000 officers were deployed to search more than 50 residential and business premises in and around the eastern city of Leipzig, said the federal police office in Halle an der Saale.
Police believe the ring operated by using genuine residency documents issued to Syrian refugees in Germany, which were sent to people in Syria with a similar appearance.
Most of those targeted in the raids were suspected of allowing their documents to be used in the scheme, with a smaller number suspected of allowing “unauthorised entry” to Germany.
Police said they seized evidence including mobile phones, residency documents, records of flight bookings, and at least 93,000 euros ($109,000) in cash.
In addition, “violations of narcotics and explosives laws” were identified and police said there were indications that some of the suspects had connections to organised crime.
Forty-four suspects underwent formal identification measures.
Many of the suspected cases of fraud were identified by “document and visa advisors” from the German police working at various airports in the Middle East.
Seventy-one such advisors have been deployed by the German federal police outside the EU since 2024 to help the visa sections at German embassies and consulates, as well as airlines at major international airports.
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