Human Smuggler Sentenced to 10.5 Years in German Court
A 32-year-old Turkish national was convicted of organizing life-threatening smuggling operations that brought 80 migrants, including children, into Germany.
- The Landgericht Traunstein sentenced the defendant to ten and a half years in prison for human smuggling in 11 cases between April and September 2023.
- The smuggling operations endangered lives, with migrants often transported in unsafe conditions, such as being crammed into trunks or on unsecured flatbeds.
- The convicted smuggler earned at least €54,000 from these operations, coordinating vehicles and drivers and giving detailed instructions to accomplices.
- Authorities credit the success of the case to the 'Traunsteiner Modell,' a specialized investigative approach targeting cross-border smuggling crimes.
- The verdict is not yet final, as the defendant, who did not confess during the trial, has filed an appeal against the ruling.
Stern 
Süddeutsche Zeitung 