German police conduct raids on alleged people smugglers

German police said Wednesday a crackdown was underway against people smugglers transporting migrants to the United Kingdom via France, with more than 500 officers involved in raids in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, in western Germany.

Other operations took place in the southern state of Baden-Württemberg, according to a police spokeswoman.

The network is accused of "smuggling irregular migrants from the Middle East and East Africa to France and the UK using low-quality inflatable boats," German police said in a statement.

The raids, coordinated with Europol and French security services, targeted an alleged Iraqi-Kurdish criminal network.

German police have issued more than 10 European arrest warrants, the spokeswoman added.

Interior Minister Faeser: 'Hard blow against brutal' smugglers'

German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser described the move as a "hard blow against the brutal international smuggling of migrants."

"Gangs that use threats and violence to cram people into small boats and send them across the Channel are putting human lives at risk," she said in a statement.

"We will continue to take tough action against this unscrupulous trade in human misery."

According to British government statistics, as of 1 December, 33,684 people had crossed the Channel and arrived in the UK via small boats in 2024.

Dozens of migrants have died making the journey in overcrowded rubber dinghies, with the French Le Parisien newspaper reporting at least 72 dead in crossings this year.

jsi/ab (dpa, AFP)