Berlin police arrest seven suspects in citywide raids against illegal firearm trafficking

Morning raids across six districts

On the morning of 23 September 2026, approximately 300 police officers, including specialized tactical units, carried out synchronized raids across six Berlin districts. The operation concentrated on dismantling suspected networks engaged in the commercial trade of semi-automatic weapons. Investigators searched 11 residential apartments, three commercial properties, and multiple vehicles in neighborhoods including Spandau, Wedding, and Lichtenberg. Seven suspects aged between 22 and 52 were provisionally detained during the morning actions. Search teams confiscated two firearms loaded with live ammunition, alongside mobile phones and electronic data storage devices. Police officials clarified that the enforcement actions were part of an inquiry running since April 2026 and had no connection to the Berlin state parliamentary election.

Specialized task forces Ferrum and Telum

The raids were coordinated by two specialized units established specifically to confront firearms offenses within organized crime networks. The Berlin police unit Ferrum (named after the Latin term for iron) works in close coordination with the public prosecutor unit Telum (named after the Latin word for offensive weapon). Established in mid-November 2025, Ferrum had launched 680 investigative proceedings by the Tuesday prior to the raids. Its caseload covers offenses against life, violent crimes, illicit narcotics, weapons law violations, and breaches of the Residence Act. Over the past ten months, these joint investigations have resulted in 260 searches and 290 arrests, placing dozens of suspects into pre-trial detention.

A representative for the Berlin branch of the GdP police union addressed the operational requirements of dismantling armed criminal structures.

“The growing arming cannot be stopped overnight, but every weapon taken off the street increases safety.”

Timeline of enforcement and armed incidents

Investigators have linked the illicit arms trade to a sequence of armed extortion incidents and coordinated task force operations across the German capital.

Both Telum and Ferrum were created as a direct institutional response to the rise of violent crime in Berlin. The ongoing joint efforts focus on identifying weapon suppliers, intercepting smuggled firearms, and arresting individuals operating within organized extortion rings.

Shifting firearm crime trends and extortion trials

Berlin law enforcement has tracked a sharp expansion in weapons offenses, frequently involving attacks directed against Turkish-Kurdish shopkeepers, cafes, and personal care businesses. Prosecutors describe these assaults as deliberate efforts to establish a backdrop of intimidation and extract illicit protection money. At the Landgericht Berlin, three men aged 21, 21, and 35 are currently on trial for a January 2026 attack in which a local venue was struck with gunfire and incendiary devices. Similar violence continued through the summer, including a June incident in which a suspected hand grenade exploded outside a Spätkauf convenience store in Wedding, and a late August bombing of a barber shop in Steglitz-Zehlendorf. In 2025, Berlin police registered 1,119 incidents involving firearm use, which includes armed threats without discharge, representing a 68% rise over 2024. As of early August 2026, the police counted more than 62 offenses specifically committed with live firearms.