Tuesday, 26 July 2016 - 14:16
Police hunt members of German leftist terrorist group in Netherlands
The authorities believe that three very violent German robbers may be hiding in the Netherlands, the police announced on Tuesday. It involves Ernst-Volker Staub (61), Burkhard Gargweg (47) and Daniela Klette (57), all three former members of far-left extremist group RAF.
These three are suspected of six very violent attacks and robberies on supermarkets and cash-in-transports between 2011 and 2016 in Wolfsburg and Cremlingen. The three have been fugitives since the early 90's.
In the 80's and 90's they belonged to the left-wing extremist terrorist group Red Army Faction (Rote Armee Fraktion in German). During this time it is believed they were involved in bomb attacks on a prison under construction in 1993.
These suspects made headlines again late in June after a new robbery in Cremlingen, near Brauschweig. They threatened a driver and passenger with an automatic rifle and anti-tank weapon, and after firing a number of shots, escaped with an unknown amount in stolen items. This method of serious weapons and threats are consistent with the method used in the other robberies the three former RAF members are suspected of.
Two months ago the German authorities also warned that the fugitive trio may be hiding in the Netherlands - one of their cellphones were traced to our country and the recent robberies were all committed near the border between Germany and the Netherlands. And despite the German authorities spreading recent pictures of the suspects around, they haven't been found in Germany.
The Dutch police warn that the criminal trio may be desperate for money and looking for new targets to rob. The police believe that they may be staying on a secluded farm somewhere, anonymously in a city or constantly moving pretending to be, for example, tourists. "The suspects are firearm dangerous", the Dutch police warn. "If you see them, do not approach them yourself, but call 112".
The photos of the two men were taken in the spring of this year. The photo of Klette is from 1988, the most recent photo the authorities have of her.