Weapons and narcotics discovered during raid against smugglers
During a raid against a smuggling gang in three federal states on Tuesday, police officers also seized weapons and narcotics. A 27-year-old man, who is said to have been involved in the smuggling of migrants, was arrested on suspicion of drug trafficking, according to a spokesperson for the Brandenburg West Police Directorate. The man was arrested in his apartment in Luckenwalde. During searches, the police discovered drugs and weapons in nine apartments - mainly in Brandenburg, but also in Saxony-Anhalt and Berlin. They also found telephones and a large amount of cash. In this connection, a second man aged 34 was provisionally arrested in Luckenwalde.
On Tuesday, more than 200 police officers took action against a suspected gang of ten smugglers and a drug trafficking ring. Three arrest warrants were executed during a total of 18 searches in Brandenburg, Berlin and Saxony-Anhalt.
In four proven cases between April and June of this year, the gang is said to have smuggled in almost 60 foreigners in overloaded vehicles and put their lives in danger, as the federal police reported. In one case, a main suspect used a rented van to smuggle 17 Syrians from Poland to Germany, crammed together and unsecured on the loading area. While fleeing a police checkpoint, an accident occurred and the van ended up in the River Spree near Bautzen.
Searches were carried out in the Berlin districts of Lichtenberg, Tempelhof-Schöneberg, Treptow-Köpenick, Neukölln and Reinickendorf as well as in Brandenburg in Luckenwalde (Teltow-Fläming district), Dallgow-Döberitz (Havelland district) and Ortrand (Oberspreewald-Lausitz) and in Saxony-Anhalt in Osterburg (Stendal district).
In light of the smuggling activities, concerns about the involvement of foreigners in such criminal acts have arisen. Moreover, the seized telephones and cash may provide leads to other international networks, involving migration and potential illegal activities.
Source: www.dpa.com
