German police raid ring suspected of laundering $162 million

German police have carried out large-scale raids in 25 cities in connection with a suspected money-laundering network alleged to have funneled more than $162 million in ill-gotten gains abroad

BERLIN -- Police carried out large-scale raids in 25 German cities Wednesday, after a chance discovery last year put investigators on the trail of a money-laundering network alleged to have funneled millions in ill-gotten gains abroad.

Officials said the raids, which began in the early hours, involved about 1,400 officers and took place in the states of North Rhine-Westphalia, Lower Saxony and Bremen.

They targeted 67 suspects, including 44 Syrians, 10 Germans, five Jordanians and four Lebanese.

Eleven people were arrested, including a 39-year-old Syrian man who is accused of membership in Syria’s Nusra Front extremist group, police said. Six others are considered by authorities to be part of the Islamist spectrum, including two who are deemed potential threats.