The day after the major raid against clan crime in the Ruhr region, the police authorities in the area and their cooperation partners have drawn up an initial assessment. During the night, a total of 14 people were arrested during checks in shisha bars, betting shops, gambling halls and nightclubs and more than 100 criminal charges were filed. In addition, over 500 reports were made for administrative offenses and around 430 warnings were issued. The officers from the various authorities seized ten weapons such as prohibited knives and telescopic batons, several thousand euros in cash and several hundred kilograms of untaxed tobacco. 25 inspected establishments had to be closed immediately by the authorities due to building law or hygiene deficiencies. "The operation shows that some clan members are obviously systematically flouting the law. We have a clear message for these criminal members of large families: in North Rhine-Westphalia, it is not the law of the family that applies, but the law of the state," commented NRW Interior Minister Herbert Reul on the operation. He had seen the control measures for himself during the night in Bochum, Duisburg and Essen.
On the fringes of the raid, however, Reul also warned against placing all members of extended families under general suspicion. "Of course there are also many righteous people in these families. And there are people who have had enough of criminal activity. We should also make them offers to leave in future," said the minister.
Almost 1,300 police officers were deployed during the concerted action on Saturday night. They were joined by around 300 employees from public order offices, customs, tax offices, building authorities, trade inspectorates, immigration offices, public prosecutors' offices and other authorities. "This networked approach has once again proven its worth. We will therefore continue to expand our cooperation with our security partners in the future," said Reul.
The inspectors from the various authorities struck simultaneously at 9 p.m. on Saturday in the areas of responsibility of the six police headquarters in Bochum, Dortmund, Duisburg, Essen, Gelsenkirchen and Recklinghausen. In total, more than 1,500 people and over 100 shisha bars, betting shops, gambling halls and nightclubs were checked. Over 800 traffic checks were also carried out.