“Asia Food” Narcotics Ring Busted In Germany

Law enforcement authorities arrested four persons in Derendorf, a district of Düsseldorf, Germany. The alleged criminals are suspected of running a narcotics ring in an Asia Food shop.

According to the investigators, the two main suspects are twins, 33-year-old each, who were renting an Asia Food store in the well-commercialized district of Düsseldorf. They ran the shop since 2013, which were supplied with vegetables and Asian products. The twins rented a cooling room along with the store.

A video conducted by law enforcement authorities shows that the two main suspects were growing marijuana in the cooling room they rented. During the police search, investigators seized various amounts (we do not know the exact amount) of marijuana and amphetamines. Officials also found a list with orders, prices and a link to a dark net website. Due to the lack of information provided by the police, we do not clearly know if the suspects ordered or sold (or both) narcotics from the dark web. The list contained different kinds of narcotics, including hash, cocaine, amphetamines, and marijuana “in different qualities”.

Along with the twins, two other suspects, a 30-year-old and a 42-year-old were arrested. The 30-year-old is a driver, who is believed to be responsible for the transportation of the narcotics. Police claim that the 42-year-old stored the drugs in the warehouse he operated.

The investigation showed that the Asia Food store was used for both tradings with legal products (vegetables, Asian goods), and for drug trafficking. According to police information, when the vegetables were in transportation, the suspects placed the narcotics under the carrots.

For investigating the current case, a special commission was established consisting of two officers for nine months. Law enforcement authorities seized 50,000 euros in cash, a US-imported Ford Mustang, and two motorcycles from the shop owners. No one is allowed to purchase property with narcotics-financed money in Germany. Therefore, the state could acquire 150,000 euros from the suspects.

The court trial is expected to be started in early March.

From the limited information police provided us, it still remains a question whether the twins bought or sold narcotics on the dark net. There could be a possibility that the suspects operated a vendor shop on the dark web selling the marijuana they had grown in the cooling room. The suspects could have acquired the other substances from the street, or purchased them in bulk orders from other dark net vendors, and sold them to customers on one of the marketplaces. However, if they were not vending on the dark net, they were selling the narcotics on the street. If so, they used the list authorities found in their store to order the required drugs from dark net sellers who were offering the substances in bulk quantities. However, if this is true, they did not necessarily have to purchase marijuana from the dark side of the internet since they had a plantation at their store.