Migrants caught

Trio made a good living underground from drug dealing

After cannabis, cocaine is the most consumed illegal drug in Upper Austria

(Bild: Scharinger Daniel)

No job, but a good life. Three Albanians in Leonding made a good living from drug dealing. The dealers were stopped because a handover was interrupted by police officers and they were caught with "full hands". One of the perpetrators is still on the run, his accomplices are currently living at state expense.

Following extensive investigations, detectives from the Linz-Land district succeeded in clearing up a large-scale cocaine trafficking operation. A 23-year-old and a 28-year-old Albanian were caught handing over a kilogram of cocaine to a buyer in the Leonding district. During the subsequent house search, the investigators found another 450 grams of the drug. The narcotics were seized and in the course of further investigations, the officers were able to prove that the trio had jointly trafficked almost 1.5 kilograms of cocaine with a street value of around 90,000 euros.

Submarines tracked down
A 36-year-old Albanian acted as the principal. The three suspects were never gainfully employed in Austria. They only came to Austria to sell narcotics. Furthermore, the three were not officially registered and only intensive investigations led the detectives to the submarines' accommodation. The police also proved that the 36-year-old had passed on almost 800 grams of cocaine since 2020. The street value of this amounts to around 48,000 euros.

Boss is still on the run
The 23-year-old and the 28-year-old confessed during their interrogations. They are being held in Linz prison by order of the Linz public prosecutor's office. The 36-year-old is currently still on the run. A Europe-wide arrest warrant has been issued for him.