- For the criminal clans, it's about money.

And you just have to follow in the footsteps of money.

The thousand needle sticks mean that we continue to remove them as long as they do not follow our rules, says Frank Richter who is police chief in Essen.

In his city, the problems with so-called clan crime are greatest throughout the state.

For almost two years, the police there have frequently raided gaming halls, nightclubs, bars and shisha cafes where they smoke hookahs.

The goal has been to fight illegal gambling, drug trafficking, extortion and money laundering.

Looking for weak points

In ever closer cooperation with customs, the tax authority, economic crime investigators and the municipality, they try to find the weak points of criminals from hundreds of large families, clans, with roots in mainly Lebanon or Turkey.

- We must show presence, show that the state is strong and that there is no place for parallel societies or parallel legal systems, says the police chief.

- You have to be careful so that there is no general suspicion against these families.

But I can not rule out that it may affect the opportunities for some to get a job.

In any case, our mission is not to push this problem aside anymore, he continues.

"Racist"

At an outdoor restaurant in the district that the police are particularly vigilant, we meet Jamal Remmo.

He was singled out by the police as one of the most influential clan bosses in Essen.

- There are raids here three times a week.

They rush in with the customs, the immigration authority, with drug dogs.

Of course, from time to time they find some tobacco.

But my God, we sell tobacco here.

We do not sell drugs, not women, not weapons, says Jamal Remmo.

- If I'm now a clan boss, are you then automatically a criminal?

I think this is racist.

We must be treated like everyone else, like the Spaniards, the Greeks or the Poles.

Or the Germans, they are not angels either, says Remmo.

Hard to prove

He himself has been convicted of a crime, and is suspected of further new ones.

But despite two years of focus on the clan environments, the police had a hard time obtaining evidence that holds up against suspected leaders.

- We have received judgments and prosecutions against some in the middle class.

But their system is very tangled, as are other mafia organizations, and it is difficult to get evidence.

But we're on our way and I think we'll get there.