German police raid suspected Islamic money-laundering ring

BERLIN (AP) — Police are carrying out large-scale raids in three German states in connection with a suspected money-laundering network that reportedly funneled millions to Turkey and Syria. Duesseldorf police said the raids that began early Wednesday involved over 1,000 officers in three western and northern states. Police say the activity is part of an investigation of a network that uses individuals instead of banks as brokers for money transfers. Such a system, known as hawala, is widely used in Muslim countries. German public broadcaster WDR reports that the network under investigation is suspected of transferring more than $116 million in profits from illegal businesses to Turkey and Syria.