Police forces in North Rhine-Westphalia are carrying out a large-scale raid targeting the controversial biker group “Hells Angels”. The Ministry of the Interior in Düsseldorf announced on Tuesday that approximately 1,200 officers were deployed across 28 different cities. The operation follows the authorities’ previous ban on the local chapter, the “Hells Angels Motorcycle Club Leverkusen”. The ban, as was the raid itself, stemmed from suspicions regarding the group’s formation and active membership in a criminal association.
According to the Ministry, this mission represents one of the largest deployments aimed at combating biker crime in the history of the German state. Starting in the early morning hours, officers conducted searches at over 50 premises, including residences and commercial spaces belonging to members and supporters. The raids were executed in numerous locations, including Leverkusen, Cologne, Langenfeld, Monheim, Solingen, Dortmund, Oberhausen, Ahaus, Velbert, Duisburg, Bergheim, Gummersbach, Kempen, Herne, Voerde, Bielefeld, Bochum, Dinslaken, Lünen, and Marienheide.
The state has a history of outlawing other affiliates of the “Hells Angels” group. Most notably, in 2017, Interior Minister Herbert Reul (CDU) banned and dissolved the “Hells Angels MC Concrete City”. This initial ban was confirmed by the Higher Administrative Court in Münster four years later. Previously, a report in the “Neue Westfälische” indicated that the organization contained 29 chapters within NRW and had a total membership of 469 individuals, making it the state’s largest biker group.