Modify the heading as follows: Altering the manufacturing process - Man faces trial for smuggling with counterfeit documents
A suspected smuggler is currently on trial at the Berlin Regional Court due to alleged crimes from around five years ago. The 58-year-old man is accused by prosecutors of being part of a group responsible for granting illegal residence permits to mainly Turkish citizens for a price. It's claimed that the group used stolen documents from Berlin authorities to forge the permits. In total, 16 incidents between January 2018 and the end of July 2019 are linked to this defendant.
During the trial commencement on Monday, the defendant admitted to participating in some of these crimes. However, his lawyer clarified that he wasn't the organizer or leader of the group.
The prosecution houses suspicions that group members stole blank residence permits, often forged with official stamps, and then placed them into genuine passports. These passports were then damaged to prevent use, prompting individuals to apply for new passports from relevant embassies. Attending the Berlin authorities, these individuals had their supposed legal status confirmed with new residence permits in their updated documents. Apparently, up to 16,000 euros was paid to the smugglers.
The man now claims his charges are "in many ways wrong." He never led any events and couldn't provide information about the theft of documents from Berlin authorities. In some instances, he referred "clients" to someone who orchestrated the smuggling operations. This individual "took care of the details and reaped the majority of the profits."
Since October 2019, a warrant for the defendant's arrest was in effect. Eventually, he was apprehended in Greece in January 2024 and successfully extradited to Germany at the end of February. He has been free from additional incarceration for the trial, scheduled to continue until July 3rd, due to charges of organized smuggling of foreigners and falsification of documents.
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The public prosecutor's office in Berlin is actively involved in the trial of the suspected smuggler, as he is accused of being part of a group responsible for illegal residence permit processes. The defendant's residence permit application processes were allegedly aided by stolen documents from Berlin authorities, which were then used to forge permits. Despite his involvement in some crimes, the defendant's lawyer maintains that he was not the leader or organizer of the group, and his primary role was to refer "clients" to someone else for further smuggling processes.
