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CRIME

Germany smashes human trafficking ring ‘that smuggled hundreds’

German police said they smashed a human trafficking network Wednesday accused of smuggling hundreds of people in "inhumane" conditions, with six suspects arrested in raids across Germany, Romania and Bulgaria.

Published: 7 June 2023 13:30 CEST
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Photo by Max Fleischmann / Unsplash

The suspects are believed to have trafficked more than 560 people into Germany, and more than 300 migrants to Romania, federal police said.

The probe into the ring began after accounts were collected from Turkish and Syrian nationals in the border regions of Austria, Czech Republic and Poland.

The migrants were believed to have been brought to Germany via the so-called Balkans route.

They were allegedly forced to remain hidden among cargo in trucks “under inhumane conditions for several days” after being taken from Timisoara in Romania.

Four of the suspects were arrested in Romania by authorities who were searching properties used to house the migrants.

READ ALSO: German police step up fight against Vietnamese human traffickers

One suspect was picked up in Germany and another in Bulgaria.

During the raids, investigators said they secured evidence including three “high-value cars”, several mobile phones and cash.

Close to 200 officers were involved in the operation, including 130 in Germany alone. After a huge influx in 2015-2016, Germany has seen a renewed rise in the number of asylum seekers over the last year.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s government last month agreed tougher measures, including new partnerships with the countries of origin of new arrivals to take them back.

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CRIME

German court ruling paves way for trial of Maddie suspect

A German court was told Tuesday it has jurisdiction to try the prime suspect in the disappearance of British toddler Madeleine McCann for unrelated sexual offences, paving the way for a trial.

Published: 20 September 2023 09:13 CEST
German court ruling paves way for trial of Maddie suspect

The regional court in Brunswick, north Germany, had said in April that it  could not hear the case against Christian B. because the suspect’s last known  address was in a different part of the country.

But a higher court in Brunswick ruled on Tuesday that there was insufficient evidence of another place of residence, after prosecutors appealed the decision.

“The regional court of Brunswick has local jurisdiction for the charges and  must decide on the opening of proceedings,” the higher regional court said in a statement.

Christian B. is already behind bars, serving a seven-year sentence for  raping a 72-year-old US tourist in the Portuguese resort of Praia da Luz in 2005.

READ ALSO: 15 years on, Portugal eyes German suspect in missing Maddie case

He is also the main suspect in the disappearance of the then three-year-old “Maddie” McCann from a holiday apartment at Praia da Luz in 2007.

Brunswick prosecutors have said they believe Christian B. murdered the girl, but he has yet to face any charges in the McCann case.

As part of their investigations, Brunswick prosecutors last year charged  him with three counts of rape and two sexual offences against children in Portugal — unrelated to McCann — between 2000 and 2017.

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Judges in Brunswick must now decide whether to launch a trial over these  charges.

Brunswick prosecutors welcomed Tuesday’s ruling on the jurisdiction issue, with spokesman Christian Wolters saying it had also “brought clarity for the  Maddie case”.

The investigations into the McCann case were still ongoing, Wolters told AFP.

Reservoir searched

McCann went missing a few days before her fourth birthday, as her parents dined with friends at a tapas bar near the apartment.

Despite a huge international manhunt and global media attention, no trace of her has been found and no one has been charged over her disappearance.

In 2020, German prosecutors revealed they were investigating Christian B. in connection with the case, saying they had “concrete evidence” he killed Maddie.

In May, investigators carried out a three-day search at a reservoir in southern Portugal, at the request of German prosecutors, in the hopes of finding clues into McCann’s disappearance.

Brunswick prosecutors afterwards said “a number of objects” were secured during the search, but that it was too soon to determine any link with the McCann case.

“New investigation results, including those related to the search operation in Portugal, are not yet available,” Wolters told AFP on Tuesday.

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