German Gets Suspended Sentence For The Commercial Trafficking Of Narcotics

A man from Bopfingen, Germany was given a sentence of two years or suspended prison, along with three years of probation for ordering drugs from the dark web, which he partly resold to local customers for a profit.

On the morning of June 7, the Ellwangen District Court sentenced the 28-year-old suspect for illicit acquisition and commercial trafficking of narcotics.

Along with the two suspended years, the just set the probationary period to three years. In addition, the convicted person must prove that he took part in an outpatient treatment program, and pay 3,000 euros to a non-profit organization located in Tübingen. In addition, he was ordered to pay an additional 2,000 euros since, according to the prosecutor, drug sales should not be worthwhile.

“Take that chance. We have considerable concerns about your long-term drug use. Scatter this,” President-in-Office, Norbert Strecker, dismissed the 28-year-old from the courtroom with these words.

The defendant “had laid a scholastic drug career”, as Strecker said during the trial. According to the court documents, the defendant started with light drugs at the beginning, however, later on, he took more of the substances, and ultimately everything – even crystal meth. The judge stated that 15 years of drug use also meant 15 years of criminality in the case of the 28-year-old.

The court documents disclosed that, in several cases, the accused had ordered drugs, including amphetamine, heroin, and cocaine, from the dark web. The 28-year-old allegedly paid for the illegal substances in bitcoin and subsequently resold part of the drug to local customers. The defendant admitted that he purchased the narcotics from the dark web and the substances arrived by the national postal service to his home address. When law enforcement authorities searched the man’s home, they seized various amounts of drugs, multiple mobile phones, and a “fine sum” of cash.

In addition, investigators had found nine cartridges of a small-caliber weapon and a rifle cartridge in the home of the defendant. However, they did not find the weapons associated to the rounds. During the trial, because of the fact that all of the cartridges were sharp, Strecker expressed his concerns about the police findings. However, the defendant claimed that he did not know where the rounds originated. According to the 28-year-old, the cartridges were “standing as ornaments on the shelf.” He also added that he never possessed the associated weapons.

The 28-year-old also admitted that he sold the narcotics to friends for a profit, however, he did not want to name any of them.

According to the court documents and the defendant’s confession, despite the 28-year-old’s daily consumption of drugs, mainly amphetamine, he had never been conspicuous at work. He has been working for almost ten years, having a good relation with his employer.

“I have the will to stop it [the addiction]. I’ve already lost too much and do not know where to go,” the defendant said during the trial. According to the court records, he had already stopped using hard drugs in August, last year, and has since been participating in a treatment program because of drug-related mental disorders the man was having.

Because of his will to get clean of drugs, his 10-year-old employment relationship, a firm partnership, and the fact that he was not a criminal, the court and the prosecutor’s office gave the accused another chance.

“He has to be supported in the end, to create the way out of the addiction. Step by step,” the prosecutor said.

Therefore, the court followed the demand of the prosecutor to order obligatory drug screening for the defendant, in which the 28-year-old will be constantly tested for drugs for a certain period of time. According to the laws of Germany, even if a minor amount of drugs are found in either the samples or at the home of the defendant, a new trial will be started where the 28-year-old will be sentenced to prison.