Europe-wide raids Two properties in Bonn searched in large-scale operation targeting the Mafia
Update | Bonn · During a large-scale, nationwide, operation against the Calabrian mafia organisation ‘Ndrangheta, two properties were searched in Bonn. One of the suspects lives in the Bonn area.
Six officers wearing face masks took a close look at a catering business in Bad Godesberg on Wednesday morning. Some of them were wearing disposable gloves and jackets and armbands that identified them as police officers. Other specialists were also on the scene, one of them had "Fahndung NRW" (NRW manhunt) printed on his protective waistcoat. Several civilian vehicles were parked in front of the business. It seems as if the task forces were confiscating items; several large removal boxes were brought out of the buiding. A supplier who wanted to deliver fresh produce to the business had to drive back with load still intact. At around 10.20 a.m., the emergency forces left the business, the lights went out, the door was closed, but not sealed.
The search, which caused a public stir in Bad Godesberg, is said to have been part of a Europe-wide operation against the Italian Mafia `Ndrangheta, according to GA information. At the GA's request, the Düsseldorf public prosecutor's office referred the matter to its colleagues in Koblenz. In addition to the business in Bad Godesberg, another property in the city of Bonn was searched.
Raids in North Rhine-Westphalia: Two properties in Bonn searched
Investigators are said to be on the trail of a money laundering scheme in restaurants, pizzerias and cafés, particularly in North Rhine-Westphalia. But the suspects are not only accused of this offence, but also of gang-related tax evasion, commercial gang fraud as well as drug smuggling. Forces from Bavaria, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland were involved in searches and arrests. The proceedings were conducted by a joint investigation team involving Europol and Eurojust. Security authorities in Belgium, France, Italy, Portugal and Spain were involved in the operations.
At 1 p.m., a joint press release was issued by the Koblenz Public Prosecutor's Office and the Rhineland-Palatinate State Criminal Police Office on a "strike against the criminal organisation 'Ndrangheta'". Bonn was listed among the cities where searches had taken place. When asked, the public prosecutor's office in Koblenz confirmed that two properties had been searched in the federal city. The press spokesperson of the public prosecutor's office did not name city districts. "The focus of the Rhineland-Palatinate investigation is directed at an Italian extended family of Calabrian origin whose members have settled in the Mayen and Koblenz areas, among others," the statement said.
One suspect lives in the Bonn area
During the operation, the police succeeded in arresting all ten suspects against whom the Koblenz district court had previously issued arrest warrants at the request of the public prosecutor's office. Six suspects were arrested in Germany, four were arrested simultaneously in Italy. The suspects are said to be between 25 and 46 years old.
"Currently, the court appearances of those arrested in Germany are underway at the Koblenz District Court, which now has to decide whether to order their pre-trial detention," the statement added. The four arrested in Italy are to be transferred to Germany in the near future. Nine of the accused have Italian citizenship, one is a Romanian citizen, the prosecution said. Seven suspects have their main residence in Rhineland-Palatinate (Mayen and Koblenz), two suspects are said to live in the Wuppertal district and one in the Bonn district. The public prosecutor's office in Koblenz has not revealed which city or municipality is meant by the "district of Bonn".
500 officers at searches in NRW
"Germany must not develop into a refuge for mafia structures. This case shows that international, organised crime can only be successfully fought through close cross-border cooperation between law enforcement agencies," said Mario Mannweiler, senior public prosecutor at the Koblenz public prosecutor's office.
In NRW alone, 500 task forces were involved. Among them were the Einsatzhundertschaft and the Spezialeinsatzkommando as well as service dog handlers. "The searches serve to find evidence. The investigations, in particular the evaluation of the evidence found, are continuing. Until a possible final conviction, the accused are presumed innocent," a statement from the Düsseldorf public prosecutor's office reads.
(Original text: ga; Translation: Jean Lennox)
