"Gummy bear gang"

Wanted Austrian now arrested on Lanzarote

(Bild: APA/AFP/Odd ANDERSEN)

An Austrian wanted on an international arrest warrant has now been arrested on the Canary Island of Lanzarote. Reports to this effect in the Spanish media were confirmed by the Federal Criminal Police Office on Friday.

The 44-year-old was caught in Arrecife. He is believed to have been living on the island under a false identity. The man was wanted on suspicion of drug trafficking and money laundering.

Four other suspects
The man is suspected of being a member of the "gummy bear gang". The group, which was uncovered just over a year ago, is said to have been a German-Austrian drug joint venture that, among other things, mixed gummy bears and other sweets with THC, the main active ingredient in cannabis. Following tips from the main customs office in Nuremberg and the customs investigation office in Munich, the authorities carried out numerous raids in Austria and arrested four suspects - three Germans in Vienna and one Austrian in Spain. A fifth gang member was being sought - and the handcuffs have now clicked for him too on Lanzarote.

More than 178 kilos of cannabis
During the house searches in Vienna, the drug squad discovered more than 178 kilograms of herbal cannabis, around 14 kilograms of cannabis powder, ten liters of cannabis oil and more than 10,000 pieces of confectionery mixed with cannabis oil. A large number of utensils for producing the THC-containing products were also seized: The "gummy bear gang" had converted an apartment with a cannabis press, industrial air filter and centrifuges into a workshop for "hash cookies" & Co.

According to the spokesman, the tools used for drug production were worth almost 100,000 euros. The police put the street value of the seized cannabis alone at more than two million euros.