BERLIN

Turkish and German police have dismantled a people trafficking gang suspected of smuggling hundreds of migrants into Europe, officials said Wednesday.

Raids across cities in Turkey and Germany saw 15 arrests made as officers targeted an organized smuggling gang under Operation Wave.

Those arrested, mostly Syrian, are thought to form the nucleus of a organization that is believed to have smuggled at least 1,700 people to Europe last year, police said.

“Today, together with our Turkish friends, we have succeeded in striking a significant blow against the ruthless smugglers of ghost ships,” Federal Police Chief Dieter Romann said news conference with Turkish National Police Chief Celalettin Lekesiz in Berlin.

The suspects used old cargo ships, known as ghost ships, to cross the Mediterranean with hundreds of migrants on board before abandoning the vessels and their human cargo off the coast of Italy.

Romann said the smugglers received up to $6,000 from each migrant.

Lekesiz said the operation followed a year-long investigation.

“With this operation, we have prevented hundreds of innocent Syrian and Iraqi refugees from becoming victims of this ruthless criminal network,” he said.

“I also believe that this operation will be a clear and strong message to criminal groups that try to make profit from the humanitarian crises and civil wars in the Near and Middle East.”

Lekesiz said Turkey had stepped up its fight against people smugglers and had arrested nearly 6,150 suspects in the last two years, preventing 245,000 refugees from becoming victims.

He added that terror groups such as Daesh and the PKK were also trying to make money from the lucrative trade.