With concentrated power, the officers attacked at dawn.
In one of the largest raids to date against rocker crime in North Rhine-Westphalia, around 900 police officers stormed 24 properties in nine cities at the same time at 6 a.m. on Thursday morning - including Hells Angels club houses in Mönchengladbach, brothels on the notorious Duisburg Vulkanstrasse, apartments and business premises in Leverkusen, among others and Mülheim an der Ruhr.
Arrest warrants against two 42 and 34 year old men could be carried out.
There is an international search for two more rockers, aged 31 and 33, and the younger is said to be in Turkey at the moment.
The four men are accused of murder, attempted murder and obstruction of justice.
Five other rockers were provisionally arrested on Thursday.
Pure burger
Political correspondent in North Rhine-Westphalia.
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The major action is the culmination of extensive years of investigation in the isolated rocker milieu.
"With today's commitment we have shown the rockers that in the end, after a long time, we will have more stamina," said the North Rhine-Westphalian Interior Minister Herbert Reul (CDU).
Almost ten years ago, bloody turf wars broke out among rival rocker clubs in Duisburg.
In November 2013, the now 31-year-old Hells Angels rocker, who is now being wanted, is said to have shot a bandido member.
The victim, who had stopped in a car at a red light, survived seriously injured;
his passenger sustained minor injuries.
Gruesome crime in 2014
A gruesome crime occurred in early 2014: The Hells Angels rocker Kai M. was shot and his body was dismembered. A little later an angler in Duisburg found a conspicuously tattooed arm that could be clearly assigned to M. on the basis of DNA examinations. In February and April 2014, further parts of the body were washed up on the banks of the Rhine in Duisburg. For years, the investigators evaluated evidence and statements in search of further remains. In May 2020, police divers were able to recover victim's skull at the Duisburg city limits to Oberhausen, among other things. The murder of Kai M. is said to have been committed by the 33-year-old wanted man and the 34-year-old Hells Angels rocker, who is currently in prison for another crime.The 42-year-old arrested on Thursday in Mönchengladbach was, according to the investigators, involved in the dismemberment and disposal of the body. The Hells Angels are said to have suspected Kai M. of having betrayed their club's secrets to investigators during the rocker war of that time.
Because of the enormous scope of the raid and the threat posed by the suspects, not only special units from North Rhine-Westphalia, but also from other federal states “were required to a considerable extent” on Thursday, said Reul. The major action makes it clear that "with perseverance and zeal for investigations, the most serious crimes can be solved," praised the interior minister. Reul's predecessor Ralf Jäger (SPD) had already made the fight against rocker crime the focus of police work in North Rhine-Westphalia.