Cologne drug smugglers from Ecuador: Long -term prison sentence!

Cologne drug smugglers from Ecuador: Long -term prison sentence!

Hamburger Hafen, Deutschland - At the Cologne district court, four men were recently sentenced to a significant extent for drug smuggling. The accused had smuggled more than half a ton of cocaine from Ecuador to Germany. The drugs in the port of Hamburg were discovered in January 2024, when customs came across the dangerous freight during a check that was hidden in a banana delivery. The bananas were intended for the Cologne wholesale market. According to sächsische.de the drugs were discovered after this discovery Observation of the container.

In a complex process, the accused received prison terms between 10.5 and 12.5 years. The exact penalty height varies because a fourth defendant was sentenced to 7.5 years in prison for his assistance and the trade in cocaine. A fifth defendant, on the other hand, was acquitted, as it remained unclear whether he knew about the cocaine smuggling. The men, whose age lies between 37 and 59, had transported a total of 520 kilograms of cocaine, whose purity level was over 95 percent. This corresponds to more than 14 million consumption units and an estimated sales value of at least 25 million euros.

drug smuggling as organized crime

This act is not isolated, but part of a widely branched and organized billion dollar business that shapes drug trafficking in Europe. As Spiegel.de Berry Creative methods, to use the creative methods. To introduce drugs in Europe. Drugs are usually transported in containers that contain perishable goods such as fruit and vegetables from Latin America. In these deliveries, the smugglers use time pressure to smuggle their illegal freight through the customs controls.

ecuador has established itself as an important transitland because it has lax controls. But pan -European drug crime also shows an alarming development. Europol recently reported on an increase in international drug cartels on the continent. The port city of Antwerp alone saw the confiscation of around 110 tons of cocaine in 2022, while about 52 tons were secured in Rotterdam. Analyzes show that the customs authorities can only record an estimated 10 percent of the smuggled cocaine.

consequences and reactions

In addition, violence in drug trafficking is becoming increasingly pronounced. Change of shooting and attacks in transit countries, as can be observed in Antwerp and the Netherlands, the increasing conflicts in the industry illustrate. Reports of murders of journalists and politicians, such as the crime reporter Peter R. de Vries, show the drastic effects of drug crime. Safety authorities have also excavated numerous drug laboratories in Europe in recent years and far -reaching international cooperation to combat drug trafficking have been launched.

Although the police authorities were able to record some successes, the street price of cocaine remains constant, which indicates a stable supply. In view of these complex challenges, it is essential that European countries will continue to adhere to stronger cooperation in drug fighting. The topic also plays a crucial role in the current political discussion, since some Latin American heads of government consider legalization of cocaine, but at the same time have to point out the need for reduction in consumption in western countries. Information on this also offers Deutschlandfunk .