In a major police operation, officers raided the Reeperbahn, Hamburg’s famous red-light district. The goal was to crack down on organized crime, stop illegal activities, and collect information related to two recent shootings in the city.
The raid lasted more than four hours and took place around Davidstraße and Friedrichstraße in the St. Pauli neighborhood. Police stopped and checked 51 people and searched several expensive cars. Many of the cars are linked to known criminals in the red-light scene.
During the operation, the police opened three criminal cases. One was for money laundering, one for drug offenses, and one for illegal residency. They also recorded four weapons violations. However, nobody was arrested that night.
Police say the operation was about more than just making arrests. They wanted to show criminals that the area is being watched and that police are ready to take action. The raid was also part of a larger plan to make the district safer for everyone.
The violence behind the raid
The raid came shortly after two serious shootings in Hamburg. On June 1, almost 30 shots were fired at a tattoo studio near the Alster River. A few days later, a 41-year-old man, said to be part of a biker gang, was badly injured in another shooting.
Police think the two incidents may be linked to a turf war between rival gangs fighting over control of the area.
Even though overall crime in Hamburg has gone down by 4%, violent crimes in St. Pauli and nearby St. Georg have gone up by 7.2%. There were nearly 1,000 knife-related threats and attacks between January and September in the city. Over 300 of those led to injuries. That’s why the police have created special “weapons ban zones” in areas like Reeperbahn, where people are not allowed to carry weapons.
A long history of crime
St. Pauli has had a history of gang activity since the mid-1900s. Groups like the GMBH gang and the Nutella-Bande were powerful in the 1970s and 1980s. In the 2000s, a group called the Marek-Bande took control until police broke it up in a large raid in 2005.
While those gangs are mostly gone, new threats have taken their place—such as drug smuggling groups and criminals from outside the country.
The Reeperbahn is still known for bars, nightclubs, and sex work. At its peak, Herbertstraße had around 250 women working in window prostitution. Although things are more controlled today, problems like drug dealing, fraud, and violence continue.
Since 2007, police have increased patrols in the area and use undercover officers to gather information. Special police units focus on stopping large criminal networks.watching, and they are ready to act.
