Germany conducts 50 raids on Hells Angels chapter after ban




Berlin - German authorities conducted dozens of raids early Wednesday on locations associated with a west German chapter of the Hells Angels organized crime syndicate.



 
Some 50 apartments and businesses in 16 towns in the west German state of North Rhine Westphalia were searched by police in an attempt to gather evidence against the so-called Hells Angels MC Concrete and Clan 81 Germany groups.
Both were banned by the Interior Ministry shortly before the operation, which included some 700 officers - some of them special forces - and dozens of sniffer dogs.
"The rule of law cannot accept the existence of parallel societies in which its authority and its monopoly on the use of force are disregarded," the state's Interior Minister Herbert Reul said in a statement.
"The organization's members are verifiably criminal. Violence, weapons, drugs and forced prostitution are their daily bread," he added.
The Hells Angels have been active in Germany since 1973 and its members have been implicated in crimes including drug and weapons sales, extortion and murder. There is currently no nationwide ban on the organization.

Wednesday, October 18th 2017
(dpa)
           


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