Ten suspects have been detained in a large-scale raid to break an international people-smuggling ring that illegally brought Chinese nationals into Germany, authorities said.
More than 1,000 officers from the federal police and other law enforcement agencies were involved in the early Wednesday operation that spanned eight states.
A total of 101 residential and business premises were searched, including two law firms, federal police in Sankt Augustin near Bonn said.
Taking advantage of special rules for foreign skilled workers, the suspected smuggling gang is said to have obtained residence permits for around 350 mostly Chinese nationals in return for five and six-figure euro sums.
The prime suspects in the case are two lawyers, a 42-year-old man and a 46-year-old man, from the Cologne area, according to police.
Through their law firms, the suspects are said to have recruited wealthy foreign nationals, mainly from China and the Arab region.
"With the prospect of a permanent residence permit, the accused are said to have paid amounts of between €30,000 and €350,000 ($32,000 to $372,000) to the law firms," according to police.
The money was used to set up bogus companies, finance alleged homes and falsify wage payment documents to fool immigration authorities in Germany. Police said the men also allegedly pocketed "not inconsiderable amounts."
The investigation in centred on the western state of North Rhine Westphalia, where the 10 suspects were taken into custody, including the two lawyers.
One of the suspects works for the immigration office in the town of Düren, where he was allegedly involved in the smuggling efforts and accepted bribes.
Raids were carried out in North Rhine Westphalia, Schleswig-Holstein, Hamburg, Berlin, Hesse, Rhineland-Palatinate, Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria. Assets were also seized and other evidence collected.
In 2022, federal law enforcement agencies registered 4,936 cases of people smuggling across Germany - an increase of almost 30% compared to the previous year.