Police launched a large raid targeting a suspected ring trading in fake language certificates, with seven suspects later taken into custody. The operation focused on Nordrhein-Westfalen and the Munich area. More than 350 officers searched over 30 locations on Wednesday, 21 October 2026, after investigations by police and prosecutors in Aschaffenburg that started in 2025. Six suspects were arrested on Wednesday and a seventh on Thursday. Prosecutors suspect the group produced and sold falsified documents used in applications for German citizenship and for residence permits. They are accused of offences including organised and commercial assistance in illegal entry and organised and commercial document forgery. Investigators built the case by looking first at people who allegedly submitted forged language certificates. They then traced hints to possible manufacturers and distributors, describing the operation as work in an organised, task-based structure. During the raids, police found evidence including a professionally equipped forger’s workshop with multiple high-quality printers used to produce false documents and identity papers. Officers also seized data carriers, suspected forged IDs and other materials, along with cash in the mid five-figure range. In one case, a firearm was seized, and police also confiscated small, retail-packaged amounts of suspected drugs. The case follows an earlier action on 2 July 2026, when officers searched 11 sites around Cologne and seized similar materials, including language certificates and citizenship documents. A 24-year-old woman and a 35-year-old man were taken before a court then, and the arrest warrants were set aside under strict conditions. For the latest operation on 21 October, the investigation team coordinated regionally across Unterfranken, Mittelfranken and Munich, as well as Nordrhein-Westfalen, with support from the Federal Police, the Austrian Federal Criminal Police Office and two prosecutors from Aschaffenburg. Europol and its coordination unit for fighting serious and international organised crime were also involved. After court appearances, six suspects are in custody. In one case, the arrest warrant was lifted under strict conditions. Police say the investigation continues while seized evidence is evaluated and links inside and outside Germany are checked.