Updated

Berlin police say they've arrested six people of Arab origin who are suspected of crimes including involvement in a robbery at the city's best-known department store and incitement to a contract killing.

The German capital's police force said authorities carried out 14 raids early Tuesday on the basis of investigations and witness testimony. It said those led them to suspected "criminal members of large families of Arab origin aged from 20 to 56."

They're suspected of offenses including involvement in a 2014 robbery at the KaDeWe department store in which jewelry and watches were stolen, incitement to a contract killing and illegal weapons possession.

Berlin's top security official, Frank Henkel, welcomed what he called a "blow against organized crime" and said it was encouraging that witnesses had come forward.