Herne (dpa / lnw) – House searches in mid-October in the Ruhr area involved a planned contract killing and the trade in explosives. State Minister of Justice Benjamin Limbach (Greens) announced this on Wednesday in the state parliament’s legal committee. The investigators accuse one of five suspects between the ages of 30 and 64 of having sought contacts in Essen in April 2022 in order to have an acquaintance killed. An explosive device was sold for almost 15,000 euros, which was picked up from an apartment in Herne and handed over to the buyer. The explosive device was connected to a mobile phone as a detonator. The explosive device would have been triggered at the first ring, Limbach reports to the committee members.
As a result, other explosive devices were offered, but without success. The recruiting of the assassin was then refrained from. On October 17, apartments in Herne and Essen were searched and identical explosive devices were discovered. Firearms, ammunition, drugs and untaxed cigarettes were discovered during further searches in a total of seven properties.
Arrest warrants were issued against three of the men, and a previously suspect was released from custody. According to the current state of investigation, the police assume organized crime. According to Limbach, the investigators do not see a political background.
