OREANDA-NEWS. In the north-west of Germany, the police on Wednesday morning, October 6, conducted mass searches aimed at combating money laundering and organized crime, the dpa agency writes, citing police representatives.

According to the media, over 1,000 law enforcement officers, including special forces, were involved in the operation. Searches were conducted in more than 80 residential and office premises in three federal states: North Rhine-Westphalia, Lower Saxony and Bremen. Eleven people were arrested.

The operation was aimed at members of an international money laundering network operating since 2016. During the raids, the police collected numerous evidences and confiscated illegal assets. In some cities, events are still ongoing.

In total, about 70 people are under suspicion. As dpa notes, it is mainly about the personal enrichment of suspects. However, their involvement in the financing of terrorism is also not excluded, security sources say. The alleged criminals, according to sources, transferred more than 100 million euros illegally obtained, in particular, from drug trafficking, to Turkey and Syria. At least some of these funds were used to finance terrorism in Syria.