The office of the Vietnamese Embassy in Germany (Photo: Steinach)
Berlin (VNA) – German police have busted aVietnamese migrant smuggling ring and arrested six suspects, the VietnameseEmbassy in Germany confirmed.
Shortly after some German newspapers reported onGerman police’s investigation into a network smuggling Vietnamese people intothe country on March 3, the embassy liaised with the country’s federal policeto learn about the issue.
Accordingly, on early March 3, about 700 Germanpolice raided 32 sites in seven states of Germany, namely Berlin (22 sites),Hessen, Sachsen, Niedersachsen, Rheinland-Pfalz, Baden-Württemberg, andMecklenburg-Vorpommern.
The probe targets 13 suspects, and six key oneshave been arrested. About 30 others were taken into temporary custody to verifytheir identities and residency status.
Police also seized many evidences in the search,according to the embassy.
The investigation has been conducted since June2019 by the Berlin prosecution agency and Germany’s federal police, withsupport from the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation(Europol) after German police found a truck carrying illegal Vietnamesemigrants on the border with the Czech Republic in December 2018.
The embassy also cited German police as sayingthat the ring brought at least 155 Vietnamese by road into Germany from otherEuropean countries. The smugglers charged each migrant 5,000-20,000 USD whichwas 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 contactingrelevant agencies of Germany for further information about the Vietnamese andupdates on the case. It also has asked local authorities to arrange visits tothe Vietnamese nationals for the embassy’s representatives and discusscooperation in illegal migration prevention./.
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The office of the Vietnamese Embassy in Germany (Photo: Steinach) 
