Counterfeit money, drugs, forgery of documents - the accused in the Düsseldorf counterfeiting trial face high penalties. The prosecution has requested almost ten and almost eight years in prison.
Düsseldorf (dpa / lnw) - In the trial against the two alleged heads of a money counterfeiting gang with mafia connections, the Düsseldorf Regional Court wants to pronounce the verdict today. A 56-year-old from Düsseldorf and a 50-year-old are accused. The two Italians are accused of commercial fraud, counterfeit money and drug offenses as well as receiving and forging documents.
At the start of the trial in March, the public prosecutor emphasized that there was no evidence that the two accused were mafiosi. Accordingly, they are not accused of membership in a criminal organization.
The prosecutor has applied for nine years and 10 months in prison for the 56-year-old as the head of the gang. The second accused is to be jailed for seven years and 10 months. The alleged gang leader had long lived under the false name "Dr. Orlando Schmidt" in Düsseldorf.
The accused confessed to having imported drugs, cars and counterfeit money of the highest quality from Italy and circulating them in Germany for years. At the beginning of the trial, the fathers of the family had still denied any guilt. There was then an agreement on a maximum penalty for full confessions.
The men were arrested in a raid in May 2021. Counterfeit money worth 160,000 euros was found.
