Hundreds of police raid biker gang premises in south-western Germany

Hundreds of police officers were searching homes and meeting places linked to the Gremium MC motorcycle club in the south-western German state of Baden-Württemberg on Thursday over suspected criminal activity.

The raids follow a ban on certain chapters of the biker organization, the Interior Ministry said in a statement.

Founded in the city of Mannheim in 1972, Gremium MC has previously come under scrutiny over suspected organized crime. In 2021, authorities banned its Southgate chapter in the Heidelberg area over suspected criminal activities.

At the time, the Interior Ministry described Gremium MC Germany as the country's largest domestic "outlaw motorcycle gang," saying it sought to expand its territorial and financial influence within the biker scene and regularly tried to enforce its claims through violence.

According to the state's latest security report, outlaw motorcycle gangs are groups that reject the state's monopoly on the use of force and are often linked to organized crime. Their activities include protection rackets, drug trafficking and pimping, the report said.

The report lists Gremium MC, the Hells Angels, Bandidos and Outlaws among the largest and best-known biker gangs in Baden-Württemberg.

The state has 154 local chapters of biker groups, with more than 2,000 members between them, according to the report.