Darmstadt (dpa / lhe) – During searches in southern Hesse, among other places, the police seized fake IDs and several hundred rounds of live ammunition. The two main suspects in the case are in custody, the police said on Thursday in southern Hesse. On Wednesday morning, eight residential and commercial buildings in Hesse – in Darmstadt, Rüsselsheim, Groß-zimmern and Langen – were searched. There was a search in Gelsenkirchen and in Antwerp, Belgium.
The two main suspects, aged 66 and 60, from Darmstadt and Rüsselsheim, together with six accomplices aged 44 to 56, are said to have procured forged or falsified documents that were used for illegal entry or illegal stay in the European Union and Germany must. Some of the documents were obtained from a 68-year-old from Antwerp. Investigations have been carried out since the beginning of the year, the allegations are suspicion of commercial forgery of documents and suspicion of commercial procurement of false official ID cards.
The forged documents are said to have been used to commit fraud with bogus invoices. The main customs office in Erfurt took over this complex of procedures, the police said. The authorities had already informed on Wednesday about the associated search warrants, which were carried out at the same time as the police measures. More than 500 customs officials were involved. A total of 13 suspects, mainly in the Rhine-Main area and in the Wetzlar area, are said to have withheld social security contributions and evaded taxes in the construction and cleaning trades.