Police forces in North Rhine-Westphalia are conducting a large-scale raid targeting the “Hells Angels” biker group. The Ministry of the Interior in Düsseldorf reported on Tuesday that 1,200 officers were deployed across 28 different cities. This action follows a prior decision by the authorities, which had banned the “Hells Angels Motorcycle Club Leverkusen”. The official reason cited for both the ban and the current raid was suspicion of the group’s formation and membership in a criminal association.
According to the Ministry, this operation stands as one of the largest police efforts to fight biker-related crime in the state’s history. Since early hours of the morning, officers have searched over 50 properties, with specialized police units also participating. The searches took place in the homes and commercial premises of members and supporters 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 raid is part of an ongoing enforcement effort, as other “Hells Angels” chapters have been banned in North Rhine-Westphalia in previous years. Most recently, Interior Minister Herbert Reul (CDU) banned and dissolved the “Hells Angels MC Concrete City” in 2017, with the High Administrative Court in Münster upholding the ban four years later. According to a report by the newspaper “Neue Westfälische”, the group was previously the largest biker organization in the state, boasting 29 chapters and 469 members across NRW.
