Germany bans Bandidos biker gang following police raids

The German government has broken up and banned the Bandidos motorcycle gang following a series of police raids on clubhouses and the apartments of suspected members in early July.

The raids, which took place in five different German states, involved almost 1,800 police officers, and led to the seizure of weapons, ammunition, drugs, motorcycles, hard drives and large amounts of cash.

According to the German Interior Ministry, the Bandidos biker gang was attempting "to expand the areas it controls and to bring in more revenue ... particularly when it comes to rival gangs, against which it would use force."

In early 2019, a shooting in the centre of Cologne thought to be part of a power struggle between the Bandidos and their archrivals the Hells Angels, caused outrage in Germany.

According to the Interior Ministry, the recovery of "various gang patches awarded to members who had carried out crimes on the organisation's behalf" suggested that such acts were not only tolerated, but actively encouraged and even rewarded. Offences committed in the past have included grievous bodily harm, attempted murder and murder.

The Bandidos biker gang was originally founded in Texas in 1966, and has been present in Germany since 1999.