The Canadian gold coin is now thought to be in tiny pieces
How Berlin’s Lebanese mafia clans work – by dw.com
A Lebanese organized crime family is said to be behind the spectacular theft of a giant Canadian gold coin – “the Big Maple Leaf” – from a museum in Berlin. But who are the “family R?” German police arrest criminals in Berlin (picture-alliance/dpa/P. Zinken) Berlin police arrested only three men, aged 18, 19, and 20, in connection with the theft in March of the “Big Maple Leaf” from Berlin’s Bode Museum, but the police operation that went with it was far wider. Some 300 officers were out at 6 a.m. on Wednesday morning, searching 14 different properties in Berlin for clues to the theft of the 100-kilogram (221 pound) solid gold coin, whose material value is estimated at 3.75 million euros ($4.3 million). There is no trace of the coin itself, and police believe it has long since been cut to pieces and sold on. The brief police statement on the three arrests (a fourth man was arrested later) added that the ongoing searches had confiscated four firearms, “a low six-figure sum” in cash, clothing, shoes and five vehicles – all of which are now being examined for traces of gold. But while the theft itself was fairly lo-fi – the tools the police presented included an aluminum ladder, an axe handle, a wheel-barrow and a green rope with spring hooks – state prosecutor Martina Lamb told reporters that the conspiracy was sophisticated and far-reaching, and that the 13 suspects in total were “out of the circle of Arab clans.” They were all “brothers, cousins and sons” of the “R.” family (German law stipulates that the surnames of suspects aren’t made public).
The Lebanese mafia The German media often revels in speculation about the organized crime networks of what are often called the “Arab clans” in Berlin. There is even a new TV drama “4 Blocks,” about the scene. It is unclear exactly how many people belong to the 10 families thought to “run” various areas of the Neukölln district of Berlin (the arrests made this week also happened in this area), with estimates ranging from a few hundred to 8,000 or even 10,000 relatives spread across Germany. Nevertheless, Tom Schreiber, a Social Democrat representative in the Berlin state parliament, who published a 40-point plan to combat organized crime in the city last year, was keen to underline that only a small handful of the members of these families are actually criminals – “2 or 3 percent,” he said. While the networks specialize in drug dealing and prostitution, they are not above the occasional spectacular robbery. In 2009, for instance, thieves broke into Germany’s most famous department store – the KaDeWe in western Berlin – and got away with some 7 million euros worth of jewelry, which has never been recovered. “Up until now, they almost never found the loot, and they won’t find the gold this time,” said Ralph Ghadban, a Lebanese social worker turned author who has researched Berlin’s organized crime networks. “And if the people end up in prison for a few years – if they get 3.7 million euros – it’ll have been worth it.”
