Head of a gang of smuggling in Aerzen arrested - police strike!

in Aerzen, in the district of Hameln-Pyrmont, the alleged head of a gang of smuggling was arrested by the federal police. It is a 32-year-old Syrian citizen who is suspected of having interspersed with gang and commercial foreigners. Together with accomplices, the suspect is said to have organized the illegal entry of more than 1,000 people, mainly from Syria and Iraq. The smugglers received between 2,500 and 13,000 euros for their criminal activities, depending on the respective route.

In the context of the investigation, searches in the apartment of the main suspect and in the apartments of two alleged accomplices that are 25 and 29 years old took place in Rinteln and Hameln. During these searches, the investigators were able to ensure 6,000 euros in cash and various evidence, including cell phones and passports. A total of 15 objects were searched in five federal states-Lower Saxony, Schleswig-Holstein and Hamburg. In addition, a suspect from Peine and another from Göttingen is suspected of having illegally brought to Germany, for which they were subsequently sentenced to prison and probation.

increase in investigative procedures for human trade

In parallel to these developments, the number of investigations due to human trade and exploitation has increased in Germany. According to the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA), a total of 510 procedures were completed in 2021, which corresponds to an increase of almost 10 percent compared to the previous year. Particularly worrying is the increase in the exploitation of minor victims, where 237 procedures and an increase of 23 percent were recorded.

In the respective cases, 283 victims and 249 suspects were recorded, with the average age of the victims 15 years and that of the suspects for 37 years. The most common form of exploitation is the commercial sexual exploitation of children and adolescents, which, in addition to compulsion to prostitution, also includes the production of child pornographic content. An alarming trend shows that 36 percent of minor victims had first contact via the Internet, with the family environment played a role in over 10 percent of cases.

The number of cases of work exposure has also increased; 28 procedures were registered in 2021, which corresponds to an increase of 27 percent compared to the previous year. In this category, the number of victims rose to 147. The most common cases were found in the care industry, in the construction industry, in the catering and cleaning industry.