Huge raid against the Hells Angels: 1,000 forces in large-scale operation

“This is a police measure, follow the police’s instructions,” it echoes through a residential area in the north of Duisburg at 6 a.m. Seconds later, banging noises can be heard. Special operations forces (SEK) blast their way into a heavily secured single-family home. It is said to belong to an influential rocker from the “Hells Angels”. At the same time, more than 1,000 emergency services stormed around 100 other properties in Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands and Bulgaria.

It is one of the largest raids against the “Hells Angels” ever. And it's a huge process: According to the police, there are 71 defendants and assets worth 48.6 million euros are to be confiscated. Investigators arrested 14 people on Wednesday with arrest warrants.

What is it essentially about?

According to the responsible police in Duisburg, the suspects are accused of “forming a criminal organization, predatory and commercial extortion, gang and commercial fraud and commercial money laundering.” It also involves weapons offenses, bodily harm and tax evasion. Mind you, this is only noted as secondary in the investigators' statement - which shows what it's all about: dirty money.

“The case exemplifies the interconnectedness of criminal groups in the area of ​​organized crime and international economic crime,” said the investigators: “Through professional cover-ups, significant amounts of money are channeled into an artificial economic cycle and assets acquired through crimes are invested, among other things, in companies and real estate.”

New state office for financial crimes picked up the trail

From the authorities' point of view, this was how money was laundered that came from drug trafficking, protection rackets or the red light district. What also proved fatal for the “Hells Angels”: The State Office for Combating Financial Crime (LBF) has existed in North Rhine-Westphalia since 2025, in which 1,200 tax investigators from all tax offices in the state have been brought together. The LBF became known through a task force for influencers - but the experts secretly also tracked the money from the “Hells Angels”.

“The investigations by our tax investigators are often the first approach to shedding light on the dark field of organized crime and dismantling its structures,” says NRW Finance Minister Marcus Optendrenk (CDU). And his cabinet colleague, Interior Minister Herbert Reul (CDU), emphasizes: “If you want to hit organized crime, you have to get the money. Because money is their motivation and money is their Achilles heel. If the state takes back the loot, it will hurt more than any house search.”

Raids in North Rhine-Westphalia and four other federal states

In contrast to frozen accounts, you can see something of the raids. And so the simultaneous police operations caused a stir, some of which lasted for hours. In Duisburg, among other things, a restaurant was searched; in North Rhine-Westphalia there were also raids in Oberhausen, Mülheim an der Ruhr and Moers. At the same time, investigators were traveling in Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, Rhineland-Palatinate and Berlin.

The “Hells Angels” are the largest rocker club in North Rhine-Westphalia. According to figures from the State Criminal Police Office (LKA) from the spring, there were 29 so-called charters (i.e. local branches) with 469 members. After the rival “Bandidos” were banned in 2021, many of the rockers joined the “Hells Angels”. The raid is a hard blow for the hell angels.

“This is the biggest blow to organized crime in several years,” praises Interior Minister Reul. Referring to the rockers, the politician says: “Organized crime is not just the outfit on the street. Behind this lies a network of companies and real estate that makes dirty money look clean. This is exactly the system we are taking apart.” Reul, always up for a pithy saying, adds: “And to everyone who feels addressed: We are far from finished. We'll stay tuned."