The German Police, the Office of Customs Investigation and the Hamburg Public Prosecutor's Office are investigating a total of 9 people on suspicion of unauthorized importation and illegal trafficking of large quantities of cocaine.
This morning, 17 search warrants were executed in four federal states and five arrest warrants. Meticulous investigations led investigators to the trail of nine nationals between the ages of 26 and 41.
According to the investigations so far, the suspects are 3 from Germany, 3 from Albania and 3 from Macedonia, who had access to the containers that arrived or were stored there as dock workers and in this context were involved in cocaine smuggling.
In this context, two weeks ago, GER managed to find and confiscate almost 240 kilograms of cocaine in a container coming from South America and deposited in the port of the O'Sëaldkai area (Kleiner Grasbrook). Police services this morning executed a total of 15 search warrants issued by the responsible district court at the request of the Hamburg Public Prosecutor's Office in Hamburg, Lower Saxony, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Schleswig-Holstein.
Two of the Macedonians, 40 and 41 years old, and three Albanians, 26, 28 and 32 years old, were also arrested, based on the arrest warrant previously issued by the District Court. During today's control in 15 residential addresses, a workplace and a garage, the police services seized, among other things, about 7 thousand euros in cash, mobile phones and written documents.
Officers also seized a high-end BMW as a suspected crime vehicle. Evaluation of the evidence is still ongoing. The five arrested persons are expected to appear before the court today, which will announce their arrest warrants.
The head of the Hamburg State Criminal Police Office, Jan Hieber, emphasized: "The long, good and close cooperation between customs and the police in the joint drug investigation group has been proven once again. Port logistics insiders play a very central role in the smuggling of imports and are therefore the focus of law enforcement authorities. Therefore, this success is an important signal for the organizers of the organized international drug trade."
"Today, the investigative authorities have managed to deliver an important blow against the smuggling of cocaine imports through the port of Hamburg.
Much more difficult than the seizure of cocaine is the successful identification and arrest of suspects and the dismantling of organized criminal structures," said the Vice President of the Hamburg Customs Investigation Office, Matthias Virmond.