German Biker Gang Members Get Life for Murder of Rival
June 11, 2008
The court in the northern city of Muenster found the men, aged 36 and 48, guilty of the cold-blooded shooting of the 47-year-old motorcycle dealer from the town of Ibbenbueren in May last year.
Some 400 members of the Hell's Angels and 50 of the Bandidos were present in Muenster for the final day of the trial. A strong police presence kept the two groups apart.
Deeply involved in organized crime
Biker gangs including the Bandidos and the Hell's Angels, both of which have charters all over the world, have been involved in bloody feuds in recent years and are believed to be highly active in organized crime.
Last month, the Interior Ministry in the southern state of Bavaria warned the Hel's Angels were extending their sphere of influence into southern Germany.
The motorcycle group, which has been linked to organized crime in many countries, has long been established in northern Europe.
The Hell's Angels have in the past been linked to dealing in illegal drugs and arms and to prostitution, protection rackets and money-laundering.
The ministry said southern Germany was of increasing interest to the gang because of drug routes running through south-eastern Europe and the Balkans.
In December, Dutch prosecutors failed in their efforts to have the Hell's Angels declared a criminal association after an Amsterdam court ruled that confidential conversations between members and their lawyers had been bugged illegally.