The man named only as Steffen R., who is now in a witness protection scheme, ran a “terror brigade” called Legion 81 out of Kiel – in support of the Hells Angels in the city, said state prosecutor Alexander Ostrowski in his closing remarks in court.

The case being heard by the Kiel district court yielded more than evidence about Steffen R.’s own crimes – he described in detail the structures of the biker gang in the region. Since then he has been under police protection at a secret location for fear of attacks.

“The criminal justice authorities will not tolerate a small group putting its interests over those of others and developing its own regime,” said Ostrowski.

But he said he was only calling for a relatively mild sentence because the accused had distanced himself from his former comrades and had put himself in danger by giving evidence against the Hells Angels.

Steffen R.’s testimony led to huge raids last month in three states across northern Germany involving more than 1,000 police officers. Detectives are still working at a warehouse in Altenholz near Kiel where they hope to find the remains of a missing man concreted into the foundations.

The Local/DAPD/hc