Berlin steamboat scare: Mistaken identity in search for RAF fugitive

On Thursday afternoon, Berlin became a place of potential danger. Travellers on board a tour steamboat noticed a man they recognised as the wanted terrorist from the Red Army Faction (RAF), Ernst-Volker Staub. The authorities were contacted immediately.

On Thursday afternoon, a peaceful cruise on the Spree in Berlin turned into a scene from an action film. Passengers of the tour boat "Wappen von Berlin" were convinced they recognised the long-wanted Red Army Faction (RAF) member Ernst-Volker Staub.

What happened next was a display of quick response by Berlin's security services, but it was also a lesson on the importance of caution in identifying suspects.

Upon the passengers' report, officers reacted almost immediately. At around 17:15, three teams of special units boarded the ship moored at Treptower Park. The operation was precise and swift, showing the high level of readiness of Berlin’s services for crises.

After detaining the suspect, the authorities used the latest identification technology. The "Fast-ID" system allowed instantaneous comparison of the suspect’s fingerprints with the database.

After thorough verification, it turned out that the detainee was not the wanted terrorist. The alarm turned out to be false. The police confirmed this information in the evening, explaining that Staub had not been captured.

At the end of February, another RAF terrorist, Daniela Klette, was arrested in her apartment in Kreuzberg. Klette, along with Staub and Burkhard Garweg, was involved in a series of robberies targeting supermarkets and cash transporters between 1999-2016. The crime scenes included Bochum, Osnabrück, Wolfsburg, Hildesheim, Cremlingen, and Stuhr. Since 2015, the prosecutor's office in Verden has been investigating this trio also on charges of attempted murder.

After Klette’s arrest, investigators were close to apprehending Burkhard Garweg. There are speculations that Staub might have been staying in Klette’s apartment.

Despite the failure of the latest operation, the police continue their efforts to capture Staub and his associates, who have eluded law enforcement for years.

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