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Police officers in the major raid in Ratingen (North Rhine-Westphalia): Investigations against 46 suspects
Photo: Roland Weihrauch / dpa
In the run-up to the major raid against a suspected money laundering gang in North Rhine-Westphalia, the investigators secured more than 6.7 million euros.
This emerges from a communication from the Cologne public prosecutor, the Essen customs investigation office and the North Rhine-Westphalia state criminal investigation office.
Accordingly, the investigations are directed against 46 suspects.
You are suspected of money laundering in particularly serious cases.
The group is said to have been using couriers to transport cash reportedly from criminal offenses to Istanbul by air and land since 2019.
The investigation had been running for about a year.
Before the raid on Wednesday, 6,764,575 euros were seized from the couriers.
In the course of the investigation, searches would be carried out in several cities, it said.
Two arrest warrants against a 46-year-old and a 53-year-old were also executed.
Because individual suspects were considered dangerous, special units were deployed on three objects.
Disk secured
250 emergency services were deployed in Cologne, Düsseldorf, Essen and other cities.
The officers searched a warehouse in Ratingen.
In total, the investigators searched around 40 properties, including residential and business premises.
So far, data carriers, cell phones and written documents have been secured.
They should be evaluated.
On behalf of the Cologne public prosecutor's office, officials from the joint financial investigation group of the LKA and the Essen customs investigation office as well as local police were on the road.
Europol is also involved in supporting the investigation.
ptz
