More than 1,000 police officers raided over 100 properties across Germany, Belgium, Bulgaria and the Netherlands early this morning, as part of a probe into an international money-laundering ring, police in Duisburg said. Investigators are also looking at a charge of running a criminal organisation, a police spokeswoman said. According to DPA, the biker gang Hells Angels is under investigation.
Most of the addresses raided are in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Six more are in other German states, while seven are in Bulgaria, Belgium and the Netherlands. Police also expect to carry out several arrest warrants.
The investigation targets 71 people, among them senior figures in the motorcycle club and people suspected of organising the money laundering in Germany and other European countries. Charges include membership of a criminal organisation, extortion, organised fraud and money laundering. Police are also looking into weapons offences, assault and tax evasion. They want to seize assets worth 48.6m euros.
In Duisburg, a special forces team stormed the home of a senior member of the group. The Duisburg public prosecutor's office is leading the operation, working with the state's financial crime unit.
The investigation started after a shootout in Duisburg in May 2022 and has been running for more than four years. The clash, between bikers and members of a Turkish-Lebanese family group, involved more than 100 people.