Police suspect organized crime behind violence in western Germany

Police in western Germany are investigating a possible bloody conflict between drug dealers after an explosion in front of a commercial building in central Dusseldorf in the early hours of Thursday morning.

Links between the blast and previous explosions in Cologne, Engelskirchen and Duisburg and an armed hostage stand-off last Friday in the Rodenkirchen district of Cologne are being investigated, prosecutors in Dusseldorf and the Cologne police announced on Thursday.

The Cologne police have taken over the investigation.

Nobody was injured by the detonation in Dusseldorf, but there was considerable damage to the building entrance.

According to witnesses, a person in dark clothing drove away from the scene headed out of town in a black car immediately after the explosion. At around 1:30 am (2330 GMT on Wednesday), residents reported a loud bang.

According to preliminary police findings, the earlier explosions and the hostage situation are linked to clashes between drug gangs, including some criminals from the Netherlands.

This week, the Cologne police called the escalation a "new dimension of violence in the area of organized crime."

On Friday, a special task force freed two hostages from kidnappers in Cologne's Rodenkirchen district, which, according to the police, involved "the most extreme threat scenarios."

Police allowed three of the culprits involved in the crime to escape in order to protect the lives of the hostages.

Explosions in front of house entrances are a frequently used tactic by Dutch drug dealers to threaten rivals.

Michael Mertens, head of the police union (GdP) in the western German state of North Rhine Westphalia (NRW), which includes Dusseldorf and Cologne, told dpa that "the Dutch drug mafia has been here for a long time, and NRW is a pivotal trafficking hub."

"You have to realize that these really are perpetrators of extreme brutality," he added.