They are said to have blown up more than a dozen ticket machines at train stations in the past year: To do this, they introduced a gas mixture into the machines, set it on fire and caused it to explode.
Markus Wehner
Political correspondent in Berlin.
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On Tuesday morning, the Brandenburg police and the federal police took action against the machine sprinkler gang.
The twelve suspects between the ages of 16 and 35 are Russian nationals, according to the police;
It became known from police circles that they were Chechens.
Apartments in eight locations in Brandenburg were searched to secure evidence, including in Neuhardenberg, Königs Wusterhausen and Bad Freienwalde.
160 police officers were on duty.
Arrest warrants were executed against two suspects, but this was not possible against two other men against whom arrest warrants had been issued because they were not found.
Another suspect is already in custody for other offenses, as a spokesman for the Berlin Federal Police Directorate told the FAZ.
Damage of 300,000 euros
According to the police, the gang had attacked ticket machines at train stations 17 times, eleven of them in Brandenburg, including in Straussberg, Erkner and Eisenhüttenstadt, five in Berlin and one case in Baden-Württemberg.
In 14 cases they would have used the gas mixture, in the other cases they would have levered the machines.
The destruction of the machines resulted in damage of around 300,000 euros, not including the loot.
In autumn 2020, the Brandenburg police established a joint investigation group with the federal police, which is responsible for security at train stations.
She got the gang on the trail.
In addition to the attacks on the ticket machines, suspects are also being investigated for extortion, serious robbery and the misuse of identification documents.