German authorities in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia (Germany's most populous federal state) deployed some 1,200 officers across 28 cities on Tuesday in what the interior ministry described as one of the largest operations against outlaw motorcycle gang crime in the country's history. The raids targeted over 50 properties belonging to members and associates of the Hells Angels following a ban on the group's Leverkusen chapter, with investigators focusing on suspected membership in a criminal organisation and the seizure of assets. The Hells Angels had grown significantly in North Rhine-Westphalia in recent years, reaching 469 members across 29 chapters — partly through defections from rival gang the Bandidos — making them the state's largest biker organisation.