City of Frankfurt bans Hells Angels

The city of Frankfurt has banned two chapters of the Hells Angels motorcycle club and confiscated their assets, according to Reuters. The city pointed to a history of offenses as the reason behind the move, saying that many members are known to authorities to have violent, drug- or weapon-related offenses on their records. In fact, Germany's federal criminal office recently released a report saying that one in every 10 investigations into organized crime had revealed ties to a motorcycle club. Germany's interior ministry says that it has the authority to ban clubs if their activities break the law.

While the Hells Angels were originally formed in California nearly 60 years ago, the club has been active in Germany since 1970. The group has chapters all around the world.

Boris Rhine, Germany's state interior minister, said that authorities are closely monitoring other motorcycle clubs in the area, and that his department has a zero-tolerance policy towards violence.