Drug trial in Leoben adjourned again – witnesses fail to appear
A trial against a young man from a drug ring in Styria has been postponed again as witnesses failed to appear in court.
Drug trial in Leoben adjourned again – witnesses fail to appear
At the Leoben Regional Court on Monday, proceedings against a young defendant from the drug scene were postponed once again. Since the beginning of March, this was already the sixth hearing that did not result in a conviction. The reason is the repeated absence of witnesses.
A female witness from the Murtal district had to be collected from her apartment by police officers in the morning and brought to court after she had failed to heed the summons. After she had given her statement, the trial still could not proceed. Another witness, whose testimony is significant for the proceedings, failed to appear. Presiding judge Robert Schwarzl announced that this person would likewise be collected by the executive in the future should she again fail to respond to a summons. The next hearing is scheduled for 5 October.
The defendant, who is regarded as a peripheral figure in a drug network, was present at the hearing. He has largely admitted to the charges against him. The investigative authorities had uncovered the network the previous year. The central figures, three men from Chechnya, had already been sentenced to multiple years in prison in the autumn of the previous year.
In the course of the manhunt, 42 people aged between 16 and 24 were arrested in the Murtal and Bruck-Mürzzuschlag districts. During searches, investigators seized 11.5 kilos of cocaine, 80 kilos of marijuana, ten kilos of hashish and €95,000 in cash. They also found semi-automatic firearms, pistols and various knives.
Source: Kleine Zeitung
Source: Google News AT — Crime (de)