UThe trial of a bloody clash between rockers and members of a Turkish-Lebanese clan began on Wednesday at the Duisburg District Court amid heightened security measures. At the beginning of May, two years ago, around 100 Hells Angels rockers and members of a clan known to the police for a long time beat each other frantically at the Hamborner Altmarkt in Duisburg. Soon after, shots rang out, injuring four people.
After an intensive investigation, the public prosecutor's office was able to charge two 39-year-old German citizens with attempted murder, grievous bodily harm and serious breach of peace. The two alleged masterminds — one a rocker, the other a clansman — are said to have fired a total of 16 shots.
So far, the district court has set the main sessions until the end of July. According to the State Prosecutor's Office, an investigation is underway in parallel against another 49 people who were allegedly involved in the dispute. The reason for the escalation was said to be that the Hells Angels had expelled a member of the clan from their ranks.
Rock club for illegal business
For some time, security agencies have observed that rockers and criminal clans involved in drug trafficking, illegal prostitution and human trafficking overlap in many places. In Bremen, a member of the Miri clan even ran a rock club for a while so that he could be used specifically for illegal business.
The authorities have been intensively acting against both rock and clan crime for years. Rock clubs have been banned many times, as in August 2022, when the United Tribuns club was disbanded by the federal Home Office.
According to the Düsseldorf State Criminal Police Office, there are currently around 890 so-called illegal members of so-called motorcycle gangs in North Rhine-Westphalia. A few years ago, security agencies counted 2,000 rockers. Back then, the lines of conflict were different: the Hells Angels and the now banned Bandidos fought bloody turf wars, especially in Duisburg.