Drug courier who transported one tonne of cannabis sentenced to 8.5 years in Ellwangen
A 54-year-old drug courier was sentenced to eight and a half years in prison by the Ellwangen Regional Court. He stored one tonne of cannabis and 17 kg of cocaine in Aalen.
Eight and a half years: drug courier stored one tonne of cannabis in Aalen flat
The Ellwangen Regional Court has sentenced a 54-year-old drug courier to eight and a half years in prison. According to swr.de, between 2020 and 2021, the man carried out more than 20 drug deliveries to several European countries, including Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
The man, who now lives in Basel, is said to have stored approximately one tonne of cannabis and around 17 kilograms of cocaine in his flat in Aalen at the time. The street value of the goods was estimated at more than 1.2 million euros. According to the court, the drugs came from the Netherlands.
According to the public prosecutor's office, the 54-year-old received his orders from an internationally active criminal organisation with Albanian masterminds. For his journeys, he is said to have received a total of around 130,000 euros. He carried out the transport in a vehicle that was equipped with a highly professional hiding place.
Crucial to the investigation was the cracking of the encrypted messenger service SkyECC, which was predominantly used by criminals. In the decrypted chats and images, investigators found detailed evidence of the drug runs – including photographs of the drugs and money, as well as open discussions about delivery quantities and payment. By evaluating the data packages, investigators came across the 54-year-old and identified Aalen as the scene of the crime.
During the trial, numerous chat logs were read aloud. The judge described the proceedings as particularly unusual at the time of sentencing. The court had never dealt with such large quantities of drugs before. The evidence from SkyECC had been extraordinary – old cases had been able to be reconstructed using the logs. The public prosecutor's office had previously spoken of overwhelming evidence.
The fact that the defendant confessed to the offences during the trial was taken as a mitigating factor. The verdict can be appealed within one week.
Source: Google News DE — Crime (de)