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Masked officers carry evidence from a shop for cell phone accessories in downtown Düsseldorf: Several civilian police cars had previously stopped in front of the shop. (Source: Frank Christiansen / dpa)
It’s about drugs, corona fraud and more: the police searched objects from cell phones to sports boats during a major raid in North Rhine-Westphalia. The accused have close ties to Hells Angels and clans.
More than 120 police officers went out on Thursday with the participation of special forces for a major raid in the Rhineland. On Friday, the police and the public prosecutor in Düsseldorf presented the results. Close ties between the accused and clans and rockers were revealed.
Three main suspects and nine other suspects were targeted. Among other things, they are said to have traded marijuana on a large scale , but they also displayed enormous criminal energy “right across the penal code,” as Head of Operations Heike Schultz said at a press conference on Friday.
Police read encrypted communications
The police searched a total of 24 objects in seven cities, from cell phone shops in Düsseldorf to sports boats. Two condominiums and a piece of land were secured, eleven accounts, 266,000 euros in cash and eleven kilograms of cannabis were confiscated. During the search, some of the accused were armed, and they wore knives and brass knuckles. Live ammunition was also found.
A 29-year-old main accused, against whom an arrest warrant had been issued, was arrested. The French police had found him. She had read his encrypted EncoChat communication. In it, the 29-year-old spoke completely openly about his drug deals, in the chat, for example, receipt of money and drugs were acknowledged.
Large amounts of cash were also seized during the raid: the investigators found a total of 266,000 euros. (Source: Police Düsseldorf)
One accused is a justice of the peace in the clan milieu
The man is accused of having spent around 1.5 million euros on drugs from May 2020 to April 2021. There are indications that in addition to 350 kilos of marijuana, he also bought and distributed cocaine and heroin, it said. Investigators assume that he invested the profit in real estate.
According to investigators, one of his accomplices is a 32-year-old member of the rock group Hells Angels . He is also said to have stolen 9,000 euros in corona aid. Another accused is said to be active as a justice of the peace in the clan milieu. All twelve accused are either related to each other or friends. Head of Operations Schultz: “In this case it is not a classic clan crime , but the links to large families are clear.”
Seized SIM cards: In the raid, the investigators also uncovered professional fraud with SIM cards at the expense of mobile phone companies. (Source: Police Düsseldorf)
Dissolute lifestyle financed almost entirely by crime
The investigators put a special focus on a mobile phone business in Düsseldorf. Expensive cars were often parked in front of the store, the people who went in and out wore high-quality clothing and went to eat in upscale restaurants.
In the mobile phone shop, commission fraud and forgery of documents are said to have been carried out, among other things: the accused are said to have activated SIM cards with the help of a computer program that were issued to false documents. The respective providers gave a commission of around one to two euros per SIM card . Schultz: “1,500 to 2,000 SIM cards were activated almost every day. In February, a minimum turnover of 30,000 euros was made.”
The evaluation of all seized evidence will take months, it said from investigators. The suspects hardly had a regular job, they financed their dissolute lifestyle almost exclusively through crime.
