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Frankfurt / main (dpa / lhe) - In the fight against smuggling crime, the Frankfurt public prosecutor's office searched apartments and workplaces in Frankfurt as well as in Steinbach, Offenbach, Wiesbaden, Rodgau and Eschborn on Wednesday.
A spokeswoman for the agency said that numerous pieces of evidence had been secured.
The investigation, which has been ongoing since November 2019, involves a total of four suspects.
The two men and two women between the ages of 43 and 54, three of whom are the main culprits, are said to have smuggled compatriots from Ghana, West Africa, into Germany in exchange for cash payments since February 2019.
They are said to have provided their customers with real passports or passport copies of EU citizens "with an African appearance", it said.
With these passports it was then possible to work under someone else's name in Germany.
Initially, no information could be given about the sums of money paid for this.
The smugglers' customers would have paid monthly “packages”, for example in the amount of 300 euros, said the spokeswoman.
There was still no information on the extent of the suspected human smuggling.
It will continue to be determined, it said.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210421-99-293900 / 2