Police take five suspects in gang war into custody
Two hostile groups have been clashing in Stuttgart for a good year now, and shots have even been fired. Now the police have had several successes. They are able to arrest further suspects - and remand them in custody.
The police have taken five more suspects into custody in connection with the gang war in the Stuttgart area. This was announced by the Stuttgart public prosecutor's office and the Baden-Württemberg State Criminal Police Office (LKA) in the state capital. According to the state government, this brings the number of arrests in connection with the armed conflict between two opposing groups to 41.
According to the authorities, the gang war has been going on for more than a year. The opposing groups are allegedly involved in criminal activities. There have already been numerous violent incidents, including multiple shootings at or in front of pubs.
According to reports, the police were able to arrest a 27-year-old in Esslingen last week. He is said to have been involved in a physical altercation on Stuttgart's Schlossplatz in August. He is accused of having used a telescopic baton there. He is in custody.
During a vehicle check on Saturday in Stuttgart, police officers then discovered a loaded pistol in the jacket pocket of a driver. He is also believed to be connected to the gang war. The 27-year-old German Serb was brought before a magistrate and sent to a prison.
Loaded weapons in the back seat
On Sunday, the police in Stuttgart also came across several hooded men. During the subsequent manhunt for the fleeing suspects, a 20-year-old German and two Turkish nationals aged 21 and 24 were arrested. They had a loaded firearm in the back seat of their vehicle. They were also remanded in custody.
Baden-Württemberg Interior Minister Thomas Strobl said after the arrests: "Our police are keeping their eye on the ball here, investigating meticulously and relentlessly." The authorities are achieving new investigative successes almost every week. "This clearly shows that the rule of law in Baden-Württemberg is holding the reins firmly in its hands," Strobl added. The police will "keep up the pressure".
In October, the Stuttgart public prosecutor's office brought charges against a 23-year-old Iranian for throwing a hand grenade during a funeral service at a cemetery in Altbach. Around 15 mourners were injured, some of them seriously, by the steel balls released in the explosion.
Previously, the regional court in Stuttgart had sentenced four men in connection with the gang war to long prison sentences for attempted manslaughter. The suspects were arrested in September last year after a shootout in Esslingen in which 18 shots were fired but no one was injured.
Source: www.ntv.de
