Police conduct raids against drug gang in Berlin

Police in Berlin on Tuesday raided a number of properties in the city as part of an investigation into organised drug trafficking.

The raids involved a large contingent of police, drug investigators from the State Criminal Police Office (LKA), and the public prosecutor's office.

A number of prison cells were also said to have been searched as part of the operation.

However, several suspects, for whom arrest warrants had been issued, have been detained, the police said.

Newspaper reports suggest the operation was directed against a gang that delivered narcotics with so-called coke taxis, through which buyers order their goods via messenger services and have them delivered by couriers.

The number of police raids targeting Berlin's drug dealers has increased significantly this year, partly as a result of improved intelligence gathering.

In 2020 investigators managed to decrypt data from the messenger service Encrochat, which was used by many criminals in Europe.

In Berlin alone, 728 investigations against some suspects were underway by mid-November.