Investigations - Searches in the Ruhr area: suspected clan background
Several months after a kidnapping for which four suspected members of a clan are believed to be responsible, investigators have searched homes in the Ruhr region. On Friday morning, three residential properties in Gelsenkirchen and Duisburg were searched by investigators from the Essen police department for combating clan crime, the police reported. Special units were also deployed. The operation was aimed at possible accomplices to the incident at the beginning of August and the securing of evidence, a spokesman explained.
At the beginning of August, four men were remanded in custody on charges of hostage-taking and causing grievous bodily harm. The suspects, aged between 33 and 45, are believed to belong to a clan of Lebanese origin. They are said to have beaten up a 21-year-old man in Essen and dragged him into a car with serious injuries. They suspected the young man, together with an accomplice, of having stolen a five-figure sum during a burglary. The quartet allegedly tried to get the loot back using massive violence - the 21-year-old was forced to break into the home of his alleged accomplice.
During the operation on Friday, the officers had to force their way into some of the residential properties. A 39-year-old man was slightly injured. No arrests were made. The evidence seized is now to be analyzed.
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- Following the abduction case in August, searches were conducted in various homes in North Rhine-Westphalia's Ruhr area, targeted at potential accomplices and evidence collection.
- The police in Duisburg and Gelsenkirchen, along with special units, conducted a determined operation on Friday morning, searching three residences implicated in the criminality of a suspected Lebanese clan.
- Despite forced entry into several properties, no arrests were made during the searches in Duisburg and Gelsenkirchen, but evidence was seized for further examination.
- The Ruhr area has been a focus of investigations due to the involvement of the suspects in the hostage-taking incident, resulting in charges of abduction and causing grievous bodily harm against the four men.
Source: www.stern.de
