In 2021, the Baden-Baden public prosecutor’s office had to deal with several large-scale cases involving professional drug dealers who conducted transactions using encrypted cell phones. In one case, a verdict follows. Investigators consider it not only the dimension that is remarkable.
Baden-Baden (dpa / lsw) - The public prosecutor's office in Baden-Baden wants to hold four men accountable for trafficking in almost a ton of various drugs. In a first trial, the Baden-Baden Regional Court plans to make a judgment on Thursday (2:30 p.m.). It is about three of the accused from Baden-Baden and Rastatt as well as 153 kilograms of marijuana, 20 kilograms of hashish and 2 kilograms of cocaine. The public prosecutor is demanding prison sentences of between five years and four months and nine years for the 34-year-old suspect. The pleadings of the defense were significantly lower.
According to the information, the suspects had secretly carried out their drug dealings using so-called crypto cell phones. However, international investigators cracked this and set a whole series of procedures in motion. In the current context alone, there is a second trial against a 33-year-old from Kehl (Ortenaukreis), in which part of the allegations were again separated.
A third charge was filed by prosecutors in February; it is about the alleged trade in 518 kilos of marijuana, 6 kilos of hashish and 1 kilogram of amphetamine and cocaine. The court has not yet decided whether to start proceedings.
A spokesman for the public prosecutor recently said that when investigators crack crypto cell phones, the advantage is that the drug dealers' communication is usually clear and unambiguous. Because the perpetrators felt safe, they did not use flowery descriptions.
Last year, the authority in Baden-Baden alone dealt with several major procedures. In addition to the international connections of the perpetrators and the professional organization, the "extremely large quantities and the high quality of the narcotics" are remarkable.
