German police carried out early-morning raids at apartments in 11 cities on Wednesday as part of an operation targeting organized crime.

Hundreds of officers were involved in the raids in the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia, focusing on the Cologne area and the Ruhr Valley.

A spokeswoman for police in the city of Essen, Sylvia Czapiewski, said authorities targeted the homes of 34 suspects.

"We have been carrying out an investigation into a large group of people for some considerable time," she said.

Those targeted were suspected of involvement in people smuggling, as well as trading in weapons, narcotics and false IDs. One person was arrested.

North Rhine-Westphalia Interior Minister Herbert Reul told journalists that the seized evidence must be examined to determine whether more arrests would be made.

Read more: Italian Mafia, bikers, Berlin clans: Europe's crime gangs

Watch video 03:08 Share Arab crime gangs in Germany Send Facebook google+ Whatsapp Tumblr linkedin stumble Digg reddit Newsvine Permalink https://p.dw.com/p/3GSYd German police crack down on Middle Eastern 'criminal clans'

Muhammad's warriors

The targets are members of the "Al-Salam-313" gang, according to a report in the German daily Bild. They refer to themselves as "Warriors of Muhammad" and the number 313 has a religious connotation.

The gang members are part of the Shiite denomination who believe that the hidden Imam Muhammad al-Mahdi will return to Earth with 313 companions. The term Mahdi means Redeemer, which therefore means that he is regarded as similar to a messiah in Islam.

"This is why they refer to themselves as Muhammad's companions or warriors," said one of the investigators.

In addition to dealing in narcotics and weapons, the gang members are suspected of having supported militias back in Iraq with the profits from their various activities.

Each evening, DW's editors send out a selection of the day's hard news and quality feature journalism. You can sign up to receive it directly here.

av/rt (dpa, AP)