In the 1990s, the power balance changed in the red light districts of Germany when Russian, Yugoslav, and Albanian organizations started to operate. In parts of Germany, police asked themselves whether they had suppressed German gangs too much as the gangs that took over were more brutal foreign gangs. In 2017, statistics suggested that German citizens constitute the largest group of suspects in organized crime trials. From 2016 to 2017, the proportion of non-German citizen organized crime suspects increased from 67.5% to 70.7%. 14.9% of the German citizens involved held different citizenship at birth.
Italian organized crime The
'Ndrangheta,
Camorra, and
Mafia all operate in Germany. The 'Ndrangheta has the most robust presence. There are an estimated 1,200 members of the Calabrian 'Ndrangheta active in Germany, mostly in the cocaine trade. Apart from the 'Ndrangheta, the Neapolitan Camorra has also infiltrated the construction industry in Germany. Five Sicilian Mafia groups are active in the country, but seem to have lost power. Italian crime groups can mostly be found in the
Ruhr district and in the west of Germany. In December 2018, German police conducted an operation against the 'Ndrangheta in Germany and arrested 90 suspects for suspected drug dealing and money laundering. Forty-seven suspects were prosecuted.
Outlaw motorcycle gangs OMCGs such as
Hells Angels,
Bandidos,
Gremium and more recently,
Satudarah,
Rock Machine and
Night Wolves, are active throughout Germany. While not all members of motorcycle clubs are criminals, many are reputed to be involved in the
red-light districts and the
bouncer scene, who control a large portion of the drug trade within bars and clubs.
Serbian mafia The
Zemun clan is active in Germany and mainly involved in
drug trafficking and
prostitution. Members are largely ethnic
Serbs, some of them former soldiers, but
Montenegrins and
Bosniaks from the Serbian region are part of the ex-Yugoslavian gangs as well.
Russian mafia Russian-speaking crime groups, in particular, the
Tambov gang are active in cities such as
Düsseldorf.
Money laundering,
prostitution and
extortion seem to be their activities of choice. Aside from the Russian groups,
Georgian,
Armenian and
Chechen crime groups are active in Germany as well. Very often these gangs and the Russian groups are named together in one breath even when they have little to do with each other. Another major form of Russian-speaking organized crime in Germany consists of so-called criminal
Aussiedler families.
Aussiedlers are ethnic
Germans (also called
Volga Germans,
Russia Germans) that were born in the former
Soviet Union. While a lot of
Aussiedlers adapted well and quickly mastered the German language, a lot of families held onto the traditional lifestyle they lived in
Russia and surrounding states. This led to the formation of individual as well as clan-based groups of
Aussiedlers involved in organized criminal activities such as
drug trafficking,
extortion,
prostitution, as well as extreme violence. Due to a large number of
Aussiedlers they are seen as the major form of Russian organized crime in Germany.
Middle Eastern crime clans Middle Eastern crime clans have become a major player in the underworld of Germany since the mass emigration of large Middle Eastern families, also called
Großfamilie. Especially in cities such as
Berlin,
Hamburg, and
Bremen Middle Eastern clans are highly active in
heroin trafficking as well as being involved in the
bouncer-scene. Middle Eastern crime families mostly have origins in
Turkey more precisely in
Mardin (mainly in Hamburg). Middle Eastern crime clans come from different backgrounds, but the most numerous of them are the
Mhallami clans such as the
Al-Zein Clan and the
Miri clan amongst others.
Turkish mafia Turkish crime groups which consist of mafia clans from Turkey are active throughout Germany in
extortion,
weapon trafficking and
drug trafficking. Often the gangs can be linked to political groups from their home country, such as the
Grey Wolves for right-wing
Turks and
Dev Sol for left-wing Turks. In 2014, the annual report on organized crime presented in
Berlin by Federal Minister of the Interior
Thomas de Maizière, showed that there were 61 Turkish gangs in Germany. According to the report, alongside their more traditional fields of drug smuggling, gangs are also increasingly turning their attention to burglary, car theft, and fraud. 10% of Germany's gang members were reported to be
Turkish and according to statistics, the activity of
Turkish gangs in Germany had decreased. In 2016,
Die Welt and
Bild reported that the new Turkish motorbike gang,
Osmanen Germania, was growing rapidly. The newspaper
Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung claimed that the Osmanen Germania was advancing more and more into the
red-light districts, which increases the likelihood of a bloody territorial battle with established gangs like the
Hells Angels Motorcycle Club and the
Mongols Motorcycle Club. The gang was banned in 2018 and dissolved.
Afghan gangs Afghan clans are active in
Hamburg, a city with a large Afghan population. Like the
Turkish as well as
Albanian gangs in the city, Afghan organized crime is active in
hashish and
heroin trafficking,
extortion and
prostitution.
Moroccan gangs Moroccan organized crime groups, have been reported in
Frankfurt. Next to the
Serbian mafia and Balkan gangs, the Moroccan organized crime has become one of the active main players in the Frankfurt underworld for
heroin trade as well as other criminal activities.
Vietnamese crime groups Vietnamese groups active in
human trafficking and
cigarette smuggling have been reported in Germany.
Chinese Triads on the other hand have also been reported but don't seem to have substantial power in Germany. == Corruption ==