Man Arrested for Ordering 500g Amphetamines from the Darknet

The Customs Office of Essen opened an investigation into a 31-year-old after intercepting a suspicious package. Essen Customs became a commonplace on the news after another recent bust—and an even bigger one that involved illegal firearms. In it, a similar event took place. And, as with the interception of the 31-year-old’s suspicious package, authorities failed to provide the public with the vital details.

However, in this case, the investigation took far less time finalize. The Customs Office of Essen opened a package that contained 500 grams of mixed amphetamines. In no time, the criminal police from the recipient’s address received a notice from the Essen Customs Office regarding the package and addressee. The original package shipper sent the package to a residence in Norderstedt, a city in the Hamburg Metropolitan Region of Germany.

After a brief investigation, officers determined that the purchaser used an invalid address to order the amphetamines. A 31-year-old from Elmshorn, a town in the Pinneberg in Schleswig-Holstein district, proved to be the police’s number one suspect. Through the District Court of Kiel and public prosecutor, the Criminal Police of Elmshorn (Kriminalpolizei Elmshorn) received an oral search warrant for the suspect’s address—an apartment in the town.

On December 30, investigators from the Criminal Police of Elmshorn as well as a special narcotics squad from the same district, raided the suspect’s apartment. The Narcotics Taskforce (Rauschgift) of the Criminal Police of Elmshorn, during the raid, found enough drugs to consider the 31-year-old a drug dealer. The investigation broadened in spectrum and no longer focused solely on the importation of 500 grams of amphetamine. This situation, in and of itself is not surprising. Germany sees amphetamine-related darknet vendors arrested on a near-daily basis.

According to police reports, the task force found and counted 280 grams of marijuana; 30 grams of hashish; an unannounced amount of ecstasy; “small amounts” of MDMA, presumably contained in a different medium than the ecstasy; and another unquantified amount of amphetamine. The amphetamine and ecstasy, according to some reports, amounted to only a small percentage of the drugs found—nothing akin to the 500 grams that sparked the investigation.

Following Criminal Police’s search of the apartment, the officers placed him in custody for the possession of drugs and conspiracy to distribute said drugs. Once in custody, the 31-year-old suspect’s actions allowed this case to move much quicker than the previous weapons case in the same district. He confessed to both buying the intercepted amphetamines from the darknet. He additionally admitted to buying the drugs found at his apartment from the darknet as well. Moreover, in a further incriminating statement, he told investigators that he bought the drugs to sell 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 referring to the findings and situation as “not small,” the Criminal Police of Elmshorn released the 31-year-old, for now. They began an investigation into the darknet vendor, or source, behind everything.