Hamburg - Three men suspected of smuggling illegal immigrants into Germany have appeared in court following their arrest in a series of police raids, justice officials said Wednesday.

The trio was detained in Hamburg on Tuesday during searches carried out in four towns and cities. Documents, computers and 30,000 euros (39,000 dollars) in cash were also seized.

The men face charges of smuggling people from Iran, Afghanistan and Kosovo into Germany for payment.

The gang provided false identity documents to their charges, who usually reached Germany by road or plane via Turkey and Greece, a police spokesman said. (dpa)