Around 1,200 officers conducted early-morning raids on dozens of addresses across the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia (Germany's most populous state, bordering the Netherlands and Belgium), targeting members of the Hells Angels motorcycle club. Authorities seized assets worth approximately €2.5 million, along with firearms, and uncovered evidence of professional drug cultivation; the chapter leader in Leverkusen was arrested and the local branch formally banned. The operation was triggered by a series of shootings between rival motorcycle clubs near Cologne in recent months, with investigators alleging the club was involved in drug and weapons trafficking, extortion, and organised violence.