German police raid suspected people smuggling gang

BERLIN — Hundreds of police have raided premises in four German states as part of a probe into a suspected people smuggling ring.

Federal police say the gang is suspected of helping mostly Moldovans enter Germany and work there illegally, using fake Romanian identity documents.

In a statement Tuesday, police said 800 officers searched 21 offices and homes in Hamburg and Bremen, Lower Saxony and Saxony Anhalt states.

Police said three main suspects — two Germans and a Russian — were arrested in Hamburg late Monday. The gang, comprising at least eight people, also includes Ukrainians.

At least 35 illegal immigrants were found at premises in Hamburg.

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According to the police statement, some of the suspects in Saxony-Anhalt had ties to the far-right Reich Citizens movement.

The Associated Press