Searches were conducted in several German states and other European countries following suspicions of membership in a far-right criminal organization.
The Public Prosecutor’s Office in Rostock and the State Criminal Police Office of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern announced that these searches were carried out based on a decision by the investigating judge at the Rostock District Court. The operations were supervised by the Rostock Public Prosecution Service and the department responsible for political surveillance at the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern State Criminal Police Office.
The actions commenced earlier in the day. In Germany, the investigation targeted four alleged members of the criminal association, eight other persons suspected of crimes, and ten associated individuals who were not formally accused.
The four main suspects, aged 55, 52, 48, and 43, are suspected of forming a permanent group no later than 2020 to disseminate organized National Socialism, antisemitism, racism, and an ideology based on contempt. One of the accused is also alleged to have acted as a ringleader.
According to investigators, these individuals manufactured and sold audio recordings containing music inciting hatred. The searches took place in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (in Anklam, Bargischow, Klein Bünzow, and Reddelich), Schleswig-Holstein (in Barsbüttel), and Bavaria (in Bad Grönenbach and Wolfertschwenden). Operationally, sections of the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern State Criminal Police Office Special Operations Unit were involved in the actions within Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.
Furthermore, the investigation concerning the audio recordings and incitement to hatred under § 130 StGB involves eight other persons suspected of crimes in various locations: Baden-Württemberg (Berkheim, Stuttgart), Brandenburg (Velten), Lower Saxony (Hanover), North Rhine-Westphalia (Meschede), Saxony (Reinsdorf), and Thuringia (Apolda).
Investigators also searched the residences of ten individuals who have not been formally accused but are believed to be closely connected to the suspects. These searches occurred in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (Heinrichswalde, Heringsdorf, Klein Bünzow, Reddelich, Viereck), Brandenburg (Blankenfelde-Mahlow), Berlin, Lower Saxony (Tostedt), and Schleswig-Holstein (Immenstedt).
Local law enforcement agencies in other European countries are also participating in the investigation, including in Estonia (Soinaste), Italy (Settala, Veneto), Poland (Warsaw), and the Czech Republic (Celakovice). These cross-border measures are being coordinated and supported by the EU judicial agency Eurojust. No arrests are planned; the purpose of the searches is to clarify the existing grounds for suspicion. Over 394 police officers from the involved federal states, the federal government, and European countries are participating in the operation, which is being led by the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern State Criminal Police Office.
