Operation Hook: Greek-German police operation dismantles gang of human traffickers (photo)

The German Federal Police and the Greek Police threw a cross-border “hook” against an international gang of human traffickers, as reported by the German newspaper BILD in an extensive report. The reason for the business “Operation Hook”.

Four Syrians aged 27 to 44 years living in Germany are being investigated on suspicion of “illegal and professional trafficking of foreigners”. The suspects are three men and a woman.

On February 1, simultaneous searches were carried out in several homes in Germany and Greece as part of the operation. According to information from BILD, the Greek Police arrested a person. In Germany, four search warrants were issued (three in Halle an der Saale, one in Minden) and no arrests were made.

“The accused have been accused of transporting people from Greece to Germany illegally and for payment by air and sea and through various EU Member States in a number of cases,” said the Federal Police Office for the Fight against Crime in Halle an der Saale.

According to Europol, which helped coordinate the operation, the trafficker gang has been active since 2020. The suspects demanded from 3,500 to 4,500 Euros for each person who smuggled from Greece to their final destination in Western Europe.

As BILD was informed by a high-ranking official of the Greek Police, the gang of traffickers transported mainly underage immigrants to Germany. These individuals were presented as children or relatives of the accused woman from Germany. In fact, a “dual” method was allegedly used: Other people’s real passports and in some cases the children of the accused were used to smuggle immigrants to Germany.

In some cases purchased or stolen real documents by immigrants already in Germany. Immigrants who would be transported illegally were said to have been “prepared” accordingly, for example they had a similar hairstyle to the persons whose travel documents they would use.

According to the Greek official, the accused woman then accompanied the immigrants from Greece to Germany. After a successful transfer to Germany, the passports were sent back to Greece for the next “business”.

There were three main routes of traffickers, according to the press release of the Greek Police. The main hubs were the Greek airports of Athens and Thessaloniki. In addition, the ferry connection from Igoumenitsa to Italy was used as the third route, from where the persons then flew to Germany. The main destinations in Germany were Berlin and Düsseldorf.

According to information from BILD, the Greek Police used the data collected to connect with the criminal gang at least ten current cases of illegal trafficking of seven minors and five adult immigrants, who are already in Germany.

The man arrested in Greece is accused of conspiracy to enter and leave the country illegally, possession of passports and travel documents of third parties and forgery.

Greek police are investigating five other foreigners for involvement in trafficking, two of whom reside in Germany.

Another person was issued a European arrest warrant for joining a trafficking gang.

In a coordinated police operation, during the Joint Day of Action, which took place on February 1, in an area of ​​Athens, the leading member operating in Greece was arrested and during a search of his residence, the following were found and confiscated:

• 12 identity cards of European countries,
• 8 passports of European countries,
• 4 residence permits in Greece and Germany,
• 4 German insurance cards,
• 2 consular visas (VISA) of European countries,
• laptop,
• 4 mobile phones and a car.

The whole company is part of the implementation of the National Business Plan (NCS) and the EMPACT program, to combat illegal immigration, led by our country

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