Suspected smugglers held in nationwide raids in Germany

German police discovered several Syrians suspected of having been smuggled into the country during raids across five states early on Tuesday morning, reported dpa.

Five arrest warrants were issued for the suspected smugglers: two women and a man in Stade, Lower Saxony, and one woman and one man each in Gladbeck, North Rhine Westphalia, police told dpa.

"All five are also Syrians," the spokesman added. The five detained were themselves asylum seekers and all had family ties, he added.

In total, the suspected gang is accused of smuggling in more than 100 Syrians, he said.

Police said the suspects paid €3,000 to €7,000 each for their illegal entry into Germany.

The suspects are accused of smuggling foreigners into Germany in an oganized and commercial manner, as well as money laundering: They allegedly bought gold jewellery with the money, for example. "That way, they are no longer sitting on the money," said the spokesman.

According to the Federal Police Directorate at Frankfurt Airport, more than 350 officers were on duty in flats and houses in seven municipalities on behalf of the public prosecutor's office in Stade.

Police conducted raids in the states of Lower Saxony, North Rhine Westphalia, Hesse, Bremen and Bavaria.