On Wednesday, coordinated raids across Germany and the Czech Republic led to the arrest of several individuals suspected of involvement in human trafficking, according to the dpa news agency.
Approximately 800 German police officers took part in the operation, which included searches of around 25 properties in 10 German federal states and six more in the Czech Republic. The targets included residential buildings and suspected brothels.
According to Germany’s Ministry of the Interior, the suspects were involved in the illegal transport of women—primarily from Vietnam—into the European Union. Fake visas were used, and the women were subsequently forced into prostitution.
The investigation, conducted in cooperation with Europol, focused on criminal networks that also smuggled people into the United Kingdom via Denmark.
Since October 2023, German police have arrested more than 2,000 individuals connected to illegal human smuggling. According to the Interior Ministry, the number of identified human trafficking victims has decreased from 40,000 to 10,000 over the past year.
