BKA raid: Eleven suspects targeted in cannabis import via business front
Federal Criminal Police officials conducted a total of 15 building searches across three countries on Tuesday. One man was arrested in the process.
BKA raid: Eleven suspects targeted in cannabis import via business front
Investigators from the Federal Criminal Police Office took action on Tuesday and searched 15 properties in North Rhine-Westphalia, Hesse and Bulgaria. One man was taken into custody, the Wiesbaden-based authority announced. He is to be brought before a judge in Dinslaken.
During the operation, officers discovered a functioning pistol, €20,000 in cash and various drugs. Eleven individuals between 26 and 63 years old with different nationalities are considered suspects. They are believed to have smuggled substantial quantities of marijuana from South America and Thailand into Germany via ship and aircraft using shell companies.
In addition, there is suspicion that the network transferred millions of euros of dubious origin abroad. According to the BKA, such groups continuously adapt to police countermeasures, exploit legal business structures and vary their transport routes to evade capture.
A separate procedure ran simultaneously against another organisation focused on Hesse. On Tuesday, 27 objects were searched in Hesse, North Rhine-Westphalia and the Netherlands. Three individuals were arrested. This group is alleged to have imported cocaine in a comparable manner.
Source: STERN.de
Source: Google News AT — Crime (de)