Warsaw/Berlin  - Seven suspected people traffickers sought under international arrest warrants, were arrested Wednesday in four European countries, according to German police.

They are accused of having smuggled more than 500 people into Germany on at least 45 different occasions. Among them were Indian and Chechen nationals.

The group is thought to have charged up to 13,000 euros (19,000 dollars) to smuggle individuals across the German border, police and prosecutors said in the eastern German town of Frankfurt an der Oder.

Investigations had been underway for more than two years, officials said.

Two Chechens, thought to be the leaders of the smuggling ring, were arrested in Bialystok in eastern Poland, a border control spokeswoman said.

Two women and a man were arrested in and near Berlin, while further alleged members of the group were seized in Austria and France.

In total, 425 police searched 38 homes in Germany, Poland, France and Austria. They seized extensive material, including passports, laptops and credit cards.  dpa