Overview
- Police executed searches in Cologne, Düsseldorf and the Siegen area and two main suspects were arrested and placed in pretrial detention following the raids.
- Investigators say the group smuggled transgender people from Brazil into Germany to force them into prostitution and extract payments from victims.
- Authorities allege victims were charged a one‑time service fee of €10,000, faced weekly charges, had to surrender half their earnings and were threatened with harm to relatives or deportation if they resisted.
- Europol assisted the probe and parallel actions in Brazil led to bank account and property seizures plus searches of about 13 companies that prosecutors say may have been shell firms used to launder money.
- Prosecutors are pursuing charges including human trafficking, commercial smuggling of foreigners and money laundering and say investigations into other suspects and assets remain ongoing as victims seek protection and justice.