German authorities say they have raided 62 properties and arrested seven people in an investigation of an alleged trafficking ring set up to bring Thai women and transsexuals to Germany to work as prostitutes.
Prosecutors in Frankfurt said raids were conducted across Germany on Wednesday. The chief suspects are a 59-year-old Thai national and her 62-year-old German partner, who are suspected of setting up the network.
Officials say the couple ran three brothels in the western town of Siegen where the Thais, who entered Germany on fraudulently obtained tourist visas, were initially put to work as prostitutes before being sent on to other towns. Their wages allegedly were largely kept by the suspects, supposedly to cover the cost of bringing them to Germany as well as for accommodation at several brothels in Siegen and of eventually passing them on to brothels elsewhere.
Prosecutors say they so far have evidence that 32 Thais were trafficked into Germany by the group.
"The investigation has so far identified a total of 32 women and transsexuals who were smuggled into Germany by the suspects and who allegedly worked in the brothels as prostitutes," the prosecutor's office said.
Police said on Twitter that the raids, which involved more than 1,500 officers, prosecutors and tax officials, represented the biggest mass search in the history of the federal force.
