Authorities in Delmenhorst have carried out a multi-agency enforcement operation targeting suspected illegal gambling and illicit narcotics activity in the German city.
The Delmenhorst police said several restaurants in the Düsternort and Hasport districts were inspected on the evening of 9 May, with some premises searched under orders issued by the Oldenburg District Court.
The operation was conducted with the Oldenburg Main Customs Office and included officers from the Federal Police, tax investigation unit and the Lower Saxony Ministry of the Interior.
According to the police release, authorities identified and prosecuted several violations, seized evidence and initiated new criminal proceedings.
No figures were disclosed for the number of premises searched, machines seized or suspects identified.
The release said the operation was coordinated with the Oldenburg public prosecutor’s office, which will handle further inquiries.
Temporary road closures in Düsternort caused brief traffic disruption during the enforcement action.
The Delmenhorst raid fits into a broader German enforcement pattern in which local police, customs, tax authorities and prosecutors have increasingly conducted joint inspections of restaurants, kiosks, bars and gaming venues suspected of hosting illegal gambling activity.
German authorities have repeatedly linked illegal gaming machines to wider criminal structures, including undeclared revenue, tax offences and money laundering risks.
Enforcement bodies have also focused on mixed setups, where legal machines are placed in visible public areas while unlicensed equipment is allegedly kept in back rooms.
The operation comes as Germany continues to debate the scale of its unregulated gambling market. The German Joint Gambling Authority of the Länder has reported a 77.03% online channelisation rate, while industry groups have argued that black-market activity may be higher than official estimates suggest.
Earlier this year, German enforcement agencies also carried out major raids in Berlin targeting illegal gambling machines. In that case, around 400 officers searched 74 locations and seized 120 slot machines, with investigators estimating that suspected criminals generated around €180,000 ($206,827) from the machines.
Delmenhorst is located in Lower Saxony, where gambling enforcement involves both local authorities and state-level agencies
