Among the eleven men, all of whom are between 17 and 31 years old and who are accused of, among other things, large-scale drug dealing, was the suspected leader of the gang: 31-year-old Mohammed H., who according to GA information once led the rocker-like Black Jackets group in Bonn, was arrested by SEK officials at a petrol station in Meckenheim. In Bonn, the investigators were on duty in Oppelner Strasse in Tannenbusch and in Seufertstrasse in Godesberg, among other places. They seized a scare pistol, a telescopic baton, brass knuckles, numerous mobile phones, suspected dealer money, small amounts of drugs and a high-value Mercedes.

The raid was preceded by investigations into the brother of Mohammed H. The 28-year-old had been sentenced to three years in prison for drug trafficking and assault as recently as January. H. is also known to the authorities: Until October 2018, he served four and a half years in prison. Robbery, resistance to law enforcement officers and drug trafficking in no small quantity are in his files.

His imprisonment apparently did not deter him from his criminal career. Although H. currently lives in Euskirchen, according to the police the gang, whose members are mainly from Bad Godesberg and are considered to be intensive offenders, is said to have supplied young dealers from Tannenbusch with drugs. "They have made several police appearances for robbery and assault."

Investigators are currently investigating further indications of cases of coercion, extortion and robbery in which those arrested are alleged to have been involved. "As the crimes were often connected with drug debts of the victims, the victims usually did not report them," said a police spokesman.

Apparently Walid S., who made the headlines with the proceedings concerning the deceased Niklas Pöhler from Bad Godesberg, is also part of the group in which the men are moving. He appears in a rap video on Youtube, which also features some of the men now arrested. The video also shows the high-quality Mercedes with Bonn license plate, which is registered to Mohammed H. and has been seized. According to GA information, it is said to have been used, among other things, to bring drugs to Bonn.

The undercover investigation lasted several months. During this time the police also came across two 26 and 29 year old drug suppliers from Aachen, who regularly organized "narcotics in the kilogram range" from the Netherlands and then handed them over to the Bonn gang. The routes of the deliveries, which were initially hidden and repackaged in Bad Godesberg, could finally be traced as far as Tannenbusch and other districts to local dealers. Already during the ongoing proceedings, the police officers seized about 1.4 kilograms of marijuana and hashish through checks.

Even before the raid on Wednesday morning, an investigating judge issued seven arrest warrants at the request of the Bonn public prosecutor's office. In addition to former Black Jackets president Mohammed H., two other suspects who were not in their apartments were arrested in Cologne and Bonn. The police were able to provisionally arrest four more suspects on the basis of the search results. Among them are two 17- and 21-year-old multiple offenders who allegedly beat a 27-year-old man to the ground in downtown Bonn on January 5 and then kicked him on the head. They too are to be brought before a magistrate.

(Original text: Nicolas Ottersbach and Laszlo Scheuch; Translation: Mareike Graepel)