GERMAN police on Wednesday launched raids on apartments in 11 cities
in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, as part of an operation targeting organised crime.

Several hundred officers were involved in the raids which took place in Essen and the region around Cologne.

“We have been carrying out an investigation into a large group of people for some considerable time,’’ a spokesman f
or police in Essen said.

Those targeted were suspected of involvement in people smuggling, as well as trading in weapons, narcotics and false IDs.

The spokesman said that no one had been arrested as yet.

The operation was expected to continue into the afternoon.

-NAN

BE

– May 22, 2019 @ 11:24 GMT |