Quote:POLICE RAID HUMAN TRAFFICKING RING
Slave Labor in German Ice Cream Cafes
Illegal immigrants have been working in German ice cream parlors for around a tenth of the average German wage. Authorities launched a nationwide raid on Sunday to smash a gang that smuggled in thousands of people from eastern Europe. The four suspected gang leaders have been arrested.
German police have arrested four suspected leaders of a human trafficking gang in a nationwide raid on more than 100 ice cream parlors believed to have employed illegal immigrants for as little as 1.50 an hour.
The gang allegedly smuggled hundreds of women from eastern Europe and other non European Union states into Germany and arranged for them to get work in ice cream parlors, the state prosecutor's office in the western city of Bielefeld said.
They worked 10 hours a day, six or seven days a week for wages of between 1.50 to 2 an hour, the prosecutor's office said. Average gross wages in Germany are over 15 an hour.
The suspected gang leaders are two Italian men aged 46, a Romanian woman aged 27 and a Romanian man of 41. A total of 1.3 million in cash was confiscated in the raids which took place on Sunday and involved more than 1,800 police and customs officers in 55 cities, most of them in the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia.
Police also detained 30 people believed to have entered Germany illegally.
The investigation was triggered when customs officers specialized in uncovering black market labour detected conspicuous connections among ice cream cafes in North Rhine-Westphalia.
cro/dpa
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In my native town (15 km away from where I live now), the police searched for 5 hours two ice cream cafes (same owner family). One opposite our house, the other 100 m away on the market place, more than 30 customs/police cars were at the places. (photo).
Both are still closed today. (The Italian couple owning them weren't there.)
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