German Police Bust One of Their Own in Illegal Gambling Raid

The German police have searched 41 houses in Saarland, a German state, and have arrested three suspects, and detained a police officer over illegal gambling accusations.

Germany Tackles Illegal Gambling With a Massive Raid

In a large-scale police raid near the French border, the German police forces searched 41 houses in Saarland, a German state. They arrested three suspects and detained a police officer accused of illegal gambling activities. The massive action included 400 police forces, tax investigators, and special forces. According to Interior Minister Klaus Bouillon, the raid aimed to halt illegal gambling in the region.

The police seized all cell phones, gaming machines and other evidence related to gambling activities. The law enforcement authorities confirmed that a police officer was one of the suspects. He was detained before the raid.

According to media outlet SR.de, the arrested suspects were allegedly involved in illegal gambling and commercial fraud. The accusations include software manipulation of gaming machines to provide fewer winnings.

Police Targeted Several Clans across Germany 

In June, the German police raided several cities in Germany as they target organized crime. Among those busted are “clans,” families or groups of people of the same ethnic background. According to the police, some of the criminal activities include social welfare fraud, money laundering, racketeering and more.

Police have issued arrest warrants against criminal clans across Berlin and North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) in Germany. Other cities they raided are Duisburg, Gelsenkirchen and Leverkusen. One of the suspects, arrested in a villa in Leverkusen, was a 46-year-old man on suspicion of being a clan leader. His wife and two adult sons were arrested, as well.

 Law enforcement searched 30 buildings, arresting leaders of a German-Lebanese family organized crime operation. Along with the offices, the police raided homes and stores, confiscating items related to the raid and making arrests of suspects with alleged links to illegal gambling. The public prosecutor’s office in Düsseldorf, NRW’s capital ordered the raids. NRW Interior Minister Herbert Reul said that the raid was a blow against the top criminal clan in the state.

Police Arrest the Godfather of Berlin

At the beginning of June, police arrested the head of the Al-Zein gang, known as “the godfather of Berlin,” according to The Bild newspaper. In another operation in Berlin, the police searched a hotel in the Charlottenburg district. The police searched all 160 rooms on the 10-floor hotel, suspecting illegal gambling activities.

During the Trojan Shield operation, over 70 other arrests took place in Germany, with more than 60 of them, in Hesse, a western German state.