International drug band Authorities bust up drug ring after ecstasy find at Cologne/Bonn Airport
COLOGNE/BONN · Investigators found 31,000 ecstasy pills at Cologne/Bonn Airport, leading to the break up of an international drug ring in Argentina and Spain. Seven people were arrested.
Investigators from Germany, Argentina and Spain have broken up an international drug ring. They became aware of the drug ring after finding around 30,000 ecstasy pills at Cologne-Bonn Airport, as the customs investigation office announced on Wednesday in Essen. In the course of the investigation, they found approximately 31,000 more ecstasy pills, three kilos of cocaine, nearly 400,000 counterfeit US dollars and hundreds of counterfeit credit cards. Law enforcement officers arrested seven suspects.
In October last year, authorities found ecstasy pills in a package and this triggered the investigation. The Essen Customs Bureau coordinated with other authorities, saying it organized the “controlled forwarding” of the packages from Spain to Argentina. Police were able to locate the package recipients at the point of destination. The head of the drug band and his companion were both arrested.
Other members of the drug band were found during a controlled delivery of a second drug shipment to Spain. They had reportedly prepared and shipped the drug packages.
(Orig. text: dpa; Translation: ck)
