Google translated from German
It’s about drugs and arms trafficking: the police searched two dozen Hells Angels objects on Thursday. This was made possible by data from Encrochat.
During searches in the rocker milieu in Berlin and in the Potsdam area, seven people were arrested on Thursday morning. This was announced by the police in Potsdam and the Berlin public prosecutor’s office.
Investigators went out in the morning to search two dozen locations, including 18 in Berlin, on suspicion of drug trafficking, among other things. There it is also about the suspicion of the trade in arms and war weapons, as it was said.
According to police reports, three members of the Hells Angels aged 38, 41 and 44 were arrested in Brandenburg. There are also investigations against another suspect. No details are yet available about the four arrests in Berlin. First the “BZ” reported on the raid.
According to the authorities, 230 forces are deployed in Berlin alone. In Brandenburg, the police searched six apartments in Potsdam, Werder, Stahnsdorf and Saarmund, as a spokesman for the Potsdam Presidium said. It is about the trade in narcotics “in not small quantities”. The aim of the searches are evidence such as data carriers, cell phones and assets.
Encrochat data led to investigations lasting several months
According to a spokesman for the Potsdam Police Headquarters, the searches were preceded by investigations lasting several months. The background is decrypted data from the short message service Encrochat.
Findings from this had already led to a raid in Berlin in the spring . Investigators provide the data with information about serious crime, drug and arms trafficking in great clarity, as the police say.
Criminals used Encrochat crypto phones
So-called crypto cell phones from Encrochat were mainly used by criminals. The service was considered unbreakable because of its elaborate encryption, and the criminals felt safe.
But the police in the Netherlands and France managed to siphon off more than 20 million secret messages last year. 60,000 participants had used the elaborately encrypted chat service. The German authorities also received the data from France via the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA), up to 40 cases are pending with the Berlin public prosecutor’s office alone.
In the meantime, it looked as if the findings from the data could not be used in court. In August, however, the public prosecutor’s office successfully opposed a corresponding decision by the regional court before the higher court.
Justice Senator: Public Prosecutor’s Office with Encrochat Department
Justice Senator Dirk Behrendt (Greens) announced further extensive prosecutions in connection with the decrypted data on Thursday. A “high number” of Encrochat processes can still be expected, said Behrendt. With a new department at the public prosecutor’s office for Encrochat proceedings and additional chambers at the regional court, we are now responding to the many proceedings that will reach us in the coming years. ”He emphasized:“ The Berlin public prosecutor’s office increases the pressure to prosecute and shows that criminal acts are not worthwhile . “
“Encrochat is an absolute gold mine for the security authorities, because criminals have been communicating openly about criminal offenses here for years,” said the Berlin Police Union. “The sheer amount of knowledge is both a curse and a blessing, because the large capacities of the criminal investigation department are tied up for years.” The Hells Angels are a dangerous constant in the area of organized crime, which does not shrink from armed violence. (Tsp, dpa)
