Migrant drug gangs in the Bavarian city of Nuremberg are accused of exploiting underage girls by luring them with gifts, getting them hooked on hard drugs, and then demanding sex in exchange for further supplies, according to a press release from the state police.
The suspected exploitation centered on Nelson Mandela Platz near the city’s main railway station, as well as nearby areas including Südstadt and Celtispark, which have long been known to police for drug crime.
In a statement published on Thursday, Bavarian Police said investigators found growing evidence that members of the drug scene were deliberately approaching young girls from unstable family and living situations. The men identified so far are described by police as predominantly of Syrian, Pakistani, and North African origin.
The girls, some as young as 13, were allegedly first offered affection and gifts such as clothing or cosmetics. Investigators believe they were later supplied with hard drugs, including crystal meth. Once dependent, they allegedly received further drugs only in exchange for sexual acts or other “services,” with some forced into prostitution.
Ten people have been identified so far, according to the Nürnberger Nachrichten. Four are under investigation for offenses including drug trafficking, supplying drugs to minors, and sexual crimes. A 23-year-old Syrian national is already in custody, while arrest warrants have been issued for two men still on the run: a 22-year-old Syrian and a 25-year-old stateless person. An 18-year-old Pakistani national is also under investigation.
The Nuremberg criminal police have set up a special investigation unit called “EKO Kajal,” which began work on May 18, according to Junge Freiheit. The unit is working with the Nuremberg-Fürth Public Prosecutor’s Office and city partners to identify suspects, secure arrest warrants, and examine possible deportation proceedings.
Police spokesman Andreas Gramlich told the Nürnberger Nachrichten that “there is suspicion that sexual assaults and rapes have also occurred in this context.” He said investigators have not yet established a clearly organized gang structure, but believe there are links between the suspects.
Gramlich said the girls “apparently went to the apartments voluntarily,” while stressing that investigators are examining the wider pattern of dependency, coercion, and abuse. He said police would “pursue the matter thoroughly” and aimed “to shed light on the entire area of unreported crime.”
It is possible that the investigation could uncover a larger grooming gang scandal across the city, with youth welfare officers already sounding the alarm about the scale of the problem. Frank Schmidt, deputy head of Nuremberg’s youth welfare office, said problems around major train stations are “not unique to Nuremberg,” but warned that the open nature of suspected drug-related prostitution among young girls was new.
Two of the girls involved have reportedly been placed in social care facilities outside Bavaria.