Police on Thursday launched raids on several targets across Germany and the Spanish island of Mallorca in an effort to secure evidence in a case being prepared by police and prosecutors in the eastern German cities of Oldenburg and Celle.

The raids, which are ongoing, target members of Germany's right-wing extremist music scene, whom prosecutors suspect of being part of an active criminal organization.

They focused on targets in Lower Saxony, according to the Celle general prosecutor's office, which noted that police had raided other sites in Baden-Wuerttemberg, Berlin, Hamburg, Rhineland Palatinate and Thuringia.

No specific information was given as to what types of facilities were targeted, with authorities saying they would give a full report after completing their operation.

Authorities are seeking to secure evidence supporting their suspicion that a network of participants, which they say are active across the whole of Germany, are involved in the production and distribution, both nationally and internationally, of hate-inciting, right-wing extremist music.

Police in Oldenburg, under the direction of Celle's general prosecutor, say they have been conducting a wide-ranging investigation into the possible creation of a criminal organization in the right-wing extremist music scene for several months.  

js/lo (AFP, dpa)

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