German authorities announced the launch of extensive raids in the federal states of Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria, amid suspicions that around 50 Syrian individuals were involved in forging passports and personal documents issued by official German authorities, with the aim of facilitating the entry of their relatives into Germany.

According to the German News Agency (DPA), official sources stated that the suspects are Syrian nationals, some of whom also hold German citizenship. Investigations revealed that an organized fraudulent method was used to obtain forged travel documents.

Authorities said the suspects reported their German passports as lost and then applied for new ones, submitting photographs of relatives—mostly women—who were selected due to a strong physical resemblance to other female family members. This method allegedly enabled the same passports to be used to allow multiple family members to enter Germany illegally.

Officials confirmed that the raids are part of ongoing efforts to combat forgery and fraud related to travel documents, stressing that investigations are still underway to determine the full scope of the network and identify all those involved, in preparation for taking legal action in accordance with German law.

They added that such cases represent a serious violation of immigration regulations and the security of official documents, emphasizing continued strict oversight and cooperation among relevant authorities to prevent the exploitation of Germany’s legal system for such offenses.