German Arrested In Narcotics Bust In Thuringia

In the summer of last year, German law enforcement authorities conducted a nationwide operation to crackdown the narcotics trade on the dark web. Within the scope of the procedure, investigators searched numerous apartments and houses. During the investigation, police discovered the illegal activities of a 22-year-old suspect from Thuringia.

Law enforcement authorities arrested the 22-year-old from Wasungen, Germany, on Thursday. Investigators from the district of Schmalkalden-Meiningen discovered the illicit activities of the suspect. The Suhl Criminal Investigation Department tracked down the location of the 22-year-old. The reason for the further investigation was the suspicion that the defendant ordered large quantities of illicit narcotics from the dark web, police information said.

On Thursday, the detectives arrested the 22-year-old in his apartment in Wasungen. During the search of his home, investigators seized 150 grams of amphetamines, six grams of crystal meth, 65 ecstasy pills, cash, and other evidence pointing on drug trafficking.

On the same day, the suspect was brought before the judge who previously issued the search warrant. The 22-year-old is currently in police custody. Further updates on the trial will be expected in the future.

German law enforcement authorities started turning focus on dark web criminals after the tragic Münich shooting incident on July 22, 2016. In the massacre, the gunman killed nine people and himself with a Glock 17 handgun. He opened fire at a McDonald’s restaurant in the Moosach district of Münich. After the tragic occasion, police started a thorough investigation on the case. They discovered that a German dark net vendor sold the firearm to the gunman. Law enforcement authorities arrested a 31-year-old man, who they charged with nine counts of negligent homicide and four counts of negligent bodily injury. Soon after his detention, the weapon vendor showed full cooperation with police and contributed to many arrests in the country. Since it has become evident that the Münich shooter bought the gun he used in the massacre from the dark web, law enforcement authorities in Germany started a nationwide crackdown on criminals on the dark side of the internet. What was surprising in the case, is that police not only has been waging a war against firearm vendors on the dark net but against all criminals who took part in any kind of illicit activities. From mid-2016, German law enforcement authorities arrested more than 100 suspects in the country. The alleged criminals range from narcotics dealers and users, weapon vendors, hackers, and fraudsters.

In the current case, there could be a possibility that law enforcement authorities arrested the 22-year-old suspect as part of the same investigation started after the Münich shooting incident. However, since there are so many ongoing cases in the country, police postponed the defendant’s investigation and only arrested him recently. For the large amounts of the narcotics found in his home, he is accused of drug trafficking. For that, he could be sentenced to serious time in prison.