Germany opens major trial into Thai human trafficking ring
A major trial opened Tuesday in western Germany against 10 defendants accused of running a human trafficking and prostitution ring.
Prosecutors accuse the 10 defendants of trafficking women and transgender people from Thailand to Germany and forcing them into prostitution. According to the indictment, the victims had to pay their travel expenses by working in brothels.
The defendants, aged 29 to 64, are accused of commercial and organized human trafficking, forced prostitution and money laundering.
They are said to have played various roles within the network, from organizing the system to serving as drivers and running the brothels.
One of the accused holds a British passport and the others are Thai citizens, with one also holding a German passport and another a Swedish passport.
Some of the money earned in the brothels – which were mainly located in the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia – was flown in cash to Thailand and exchanged there.
In one case described by prosecutors, €110,000 ($128,000) was smuggled into Asia from Hamburg airport in two packets of candy.
The Bielefeld Regional Court has set trial dates until the end of April 2026.
A man arrives at the Bielefeld district court to attend a trial against a gang smuggling prostitutes to Germany. The ten defendants, aged between 29 and 64, are suspected of smuggling Thai women and transsexuals into Germany for commercial and gang purposes. Friso Gentsch/dpa
