German police launched widespread raids early on Wednesday targeting a suspected people-smuggling ring that's thought to have helped at least 140 people come to Germany via the Balkans illegally in exchange for payment.

A spokesman for the federal police said that the focal points of the operation were the eastern state of Thuringia and the city of Jena.

What do we know about the operation? 

Police said that 15 of the 19 properties searched were in Thuringia, and 10 of them in Jena itself.

Individuals brought into the country were initially being housed in an apartment there, police said. 

A total of roughly 340 officers mobilized across five states in all, including special GSG9 units in Jena, with searches also taking place further west in Baden-Württemberg, Saxony-Anhalt, Schleswig-Holstein and North Rhine-Westphalia.

"The goal of the measures was the discovery and seizure of evidence that could prove the crimes," police said of Wednesday's raids. "Documents, electronic storage devices, cash and other valuables were the focus."

What police said about the alleged group and suspects

Police said five men were arrested in Wednesday's operation — three Syrian nationals and two with Iraqi citizenship. All five were arrested in Thuringia. Three were detained in the city of Jena, one in Sondershausen and another in Bad Sulza.

Police said that in total the case involved 18 suspects, ranging from 23 to 57 years of age, from drivers up to the more organizational level.

"Investigations indicate that since December 2022 at least 140 people were transported to Germany by the group," police said in a statement. "The smugglers are thought to have demanded around €700 (roughly $775) for transportation to Germany from Slovakia." For continued transportation to another country neighboring Germany, they would charge a further €500, police said.

This was done in exchange for payment made via intermediaries using the informal so-called "Hawala" transfer system that is outlawed in Germany. Two Hawala intermediaries, known as hawaldar, are among the suspects.

Investigators identified and tracked down the suspects after intercepting several vans, the group's preferred method of transport, at the borders.

A core responsibility of Germany's federal police force, or Bundespolizei, is policing Germany's borders. 

The operation comes amid an increased political focus on the issue of migration of late, following a fatal knife attack in Solingen and the success of the anti-migration Alternative for Germany (AfD) party in state elections in Thuringia and Saxony on Sunday.

msh/nm (AFP, dpa)