In a major raid, the police in North Rhine-Westphalia again hit the organized drug and arms trade.

A total of 47 objects - including kiosks, apartments, warehouses, restaurants and workshops - were searched in twelve cities, the lead police in Duisburg announced on Wednesday.

"Today's mission is the crowning glory of complex and covert investigations against organized crime," said North Rhine-Westphalia Interior Minister Herbert Reul (CDU) of the German Press Agency. According to Reul, the police have arrested six men and arrested two other suspects. The men are between 23 and 39 years old, the police said in the afternoon. “All of them have Turkish citizenship. The group of offenders was extremely active in the arms and drug trade, ”said the interior minister.

As early as October and the beginning of November, the security forces had "blown up two cannabis plantations, which we attribute to those arrested," said Reul. The amphetamine oil found is sufficient for the production of around 25 kilograms of amphetamine. In addition to drugs, the investigators have now "secured almost 200,000 euros in cash and found another highly professional cannabis plantation under construction". Two live firearms and ammunition were also seized in Wuppertal and Gladbeck.

The searches ran in Duisburg, Wuppertal, Herne, Dinslaken, Gladbeck, Essen, Oberhausen, Langenfeld, Ratingen, Hamm, Kamp-Lintfort and Gelsenkirchen.

The investigators from the Duisburg Criminal Police were supported by several hundred emergency services from the region, such as special units, operational hundreds and service dog handlers.