In the past ten years, a drug ring has smuggled more than 200 kilograms of cocaine with a street sales value of more than 16 million euros from the Dominican Republic, mostly to Austria, but also to Spain, Italy and the USA. After meticulous investigations, domestic investigators have investigated alleged accomplices, including the mastermind responsible for Austria, and customers from the greater Linz and Vienna area. Eight people are in custody.
SN/APA/ARTINGER Guenter
The drugs came from the Dominican Republic
The story began in 2019 when around 1.4 kilos of cocaine were found on a person arriving from the Dominican Republic at Vienna Airport. When a mail from the Dominican Republic was seized by customs at Leipzig Airport in Germany in March 2021, which contained small drum key tags filled with drugs, the investigation picked up speed. The package was addressed to someone from Linz.
Investigators found that the cocaine in the Dominican Republic was pressed and hidden in everyday objects. These were then sent to Austria and other countries or transported by paid couriers. The ring was based on a division of labor and was well organized. The syndicate members in Linz accepted the cocaine deliveries and ensured a profitable sale. The winnings were transferred to the Dominican Republic in unsuspicious small amounts or were taken away on vacation by compatriots recruited in Austria.
Accessed on November 24, 2021 at 7:37 am on https://www.sn.at/panorama/oesterreich/kokain-um-16-mio-euro-verkauf-festhaben-in-oesterreich-112978417