Berlin cruise turns chaotic as suspected RAF terrorist sparks panic

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

What happened next was a demonstration of the quick response of Berlin's security services and a lesson on the importance of caution in identifying suspects.

Officers responded to the passengers' report almost immediately. At around 12:15 PM Eastern Time, three teams of special units boarded the ship moored at Treptower Park. The operation was precise and swift, a testament to the high level of preparedness of Berlin's services for crises.

After detaining the suspect, the authorities used the latest identification technology. The "Fast-ID" system allowed for rapidly comparing the detainee's fingerprints with the database.

Upon thorough verification, it turned out that the detainee was not a wanted terrorist. The alarm proved false. The police confirmed this information in the evening, explaining that they failed to capture Staub.

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 armed robberies on supermarkets and cash transporters between 1999 and 2016. The crime locations included Bochum, Osnabrück, Wolfsburg, Hildesheim, Cremlingen, and Stuhr. Since 2015, the prosecution in Verden has been investigating this trio on charges of attempted murder.

Following Klette's arrest, investigators were close to capturing Burkhard Garweg. There are suspicions that Staub might have been staying in Klette's apartment.

Despite the failure of the latest operation, the police are not relenting in their efforts to catch Staub and his collaborators, who have been eluding law enforcement for years.