BERLIN, May 8 (Xinhua) -- A total of 800 police officers raided several premises associated with an alleged human trafficking ring in Germany, a spokesperson for the Federal Police force (Bundespolizei) confirmed on Tuesday.
The raids in Hamburg, Bremen and Altmarkt first began on Monday night and were still ongoing in some locations on Tuesday. Two individuals with German citizenship and one with Russian citizenship were taken into police custody on suspicion of belonging to an illicit human trafficking ring.
The widely-publicized raids marked the dramatic culmination of a long-standing investigation by the Lueneburg state prosecution office launched in October 2017. The prosecutors believe an international criminal syndicate brought mainly Moldovan citizens to Germany with fake Romanian passports and employed them illegally there.
An Austrian family operating a security company allegedly played a pivotal role in the ring by formally employing the Moldovans under their false Romanian identities and hiring their labor out to other companies and organizations. German and Austrian police have been collaborating on the case which currently lists eight key suspects in Germany.
German media reported on Tuesday that some of those individuals also have ties to the so-called underground Reichsbuerger scene. The term, which literally translates into "citizens of the empire", refers to a political movement which doesn't recognize the legality of the modern German federal republic. The group has occasionally become involved in violent clashes with security authorities in recent years.
The spokesperson for the German Federal Police refused to deny or comment on any links between the suspected trafficking ring and the Reichsbuerger scene. Experts have warned that the still poorly-understood group does not merely passively object to the existence of modern Germany but is increasingly trying to build parallel governance structures in the country, in some instances by colluding with far-right and Neo-Nazi organizations.
Police told the press on Tuesday that a decision on whether to formally arrest the three suspects in temporary custody would be reached in the course of the day.
