31-year-old German Arrested For Drug Trafficking

Law enforcement authorities detained a 31-year-old suspect from Wernigerode, Germany for drug trafficking.

The suspect stood before the Fifth Criminal Court of Magdeburg on Friday. The prosecution accused the 31-year-old of ordering about 560 grams of amphetamines in September 2015 from the dark web.

According to the public prosecutor’s office, law enforcement authorities intercepted the narcotics delivery. The vendor sent the package via the postal service to the 31-year-old.

When police raided the man’s apartment in August 2016, officials seized amphetamines, ecstasy pills, and hash. In addition to that, authorities confiscated 64,000 euros in cash. Police suspected that the money came from illegal sources.

According to police information, the investigation is still going. In the preliminary investigation, the suspect did not provide any information to law enforcement, Christian Löffler, spokesman for the Magdeburg court said.

The court seeks to hear seven witnesses and one expert in the case. Two negotiation days are scheduled. In the case of conviction, the 31-year-old could get a prison sentence between one to 15 years.

Similarly to the current case, a 31-year-old was arrested in Elmshorn, Germany for ordering amphetamines from the dark web. The Customs Office in Essen opened an investigation against the suspect after they intercepted a suspicious package containing about 500 grams of mixed amphetamines. The customs office immediately notified the Norderstedt local police about the case. However, it was not the real address of the suspect since he provided an invalid address to the dark net vendor. After authorities determined the real location of the 31-year-old, with an oral search warrant, the Criminal Police of Elmshorn, with the help of a special narcotics squad, raided the suspect’s apartment in the town on December 30. The Narcotics Taskforce (Rauschgift) of the Criminal Police of Elmshorn found enough drugs to consider the 31-year-old a drug dealer.

According to police reports, law enforcement authorities seized 280 grams of marijuana, 30 grams of hash, ecstasy pills, “small amounts” of MDMA, and an unquantified amount of amphetamines. After the home search, officials arrested the 31-year-old for the possession of narcotics and conspiracy to distribute drugs. The suspect confessed that he purchased both the intercepted amphetamines and the narcotics law enforcement authorities found in his apartment. In addition to that, he told investigators that he bought the drugs with the purpose to sell them on the streets.

“In the ensuing interrogation, the accused showed up and confessed. He explained the process by which he placed extensive orders for narcotics on the so-called Darknet. He revealed that he ordered the drugs to sell offline,” said police spokeswoman Peggy Bandelin.

Despite the fact that large quantities of narcotics were seized in the case, the Criminal Police of Elmshorn temporarily released the 31-year-old. Law enforcement authorities started an investigation on the dark net vendor who sold the narcotics to the 31-year-old suspect in Elmshorn.