Cologne (dpa / lnw) - The police in the Cologne area have executed arrest warrants against four men between the ages of 23 and 48 for trading in several hundred kilograms of opium. Around 50 emergency services and several special units were involved in the action early Tuesday morning, the police said. Seven apartments in Hennef, Frechen and Aachen as well as a snack bar in Cologne were searched and evidence was secured. Another arrest warrant against a 37-year-old will be announced. The man has been in custody since September for a homicide. The sales value of the drugs is around seven million euros.
The investigators came across the group by evaluating data from another method. Undercover investigations revealed that the men are said to have been involved in drug deals in Cologne and the region since the beginning of 2020. They are said to have brought and sold several hundred kilos of opium from Iran and the Netherlands to Germany. They are also said to have dealt in kilos of cocaine and heroin.
