Gang busted

Drug grandpa (70) brought drugs to Upper Austria

The suspects are currently being held in Linz prison.

(Bild: Harald Dostal)

Age is no protection from folly! A 70-year-old German acted as a drug smuggler for a criminal trio from Upper Austria, bringing the drugs across the border in a rigged car. The criminals were active for three years, now the handcuffs clicked. 

The police have put an end to the extensive drug trafficking in the central region of Upper Austria. In total, three main offenders (aged 23, 25 and 26) are said to have smuggled around 300 kilograms of herbal cannabis, four kilograms of cocaine and ten kilograms of amphetamines into Upper Austria between August 2020 and May 2024 and distributed them further, according to the State Criminal Police Office. Bavarian detectives were also involved in the investigation.

Already active since 2020
Two of the suspects had already imported large quantities of drugs into Austria between August 2020 and March 2021 and distributed them further. At that time, they are believed to have acted independently of each other, according to the police. From May 2021, the three are said to have acted together in part. The narcotics are said to have been procured in Austria and abroad and distributed together.

70-year-old in custody
A 70-year-old German man brought narcotics to Austria in a prepared vehicle. He was arrested in Munich in mid-February. New sources of supply in Germany and Spain were then used. A garage in Leonding served as a narcotics bunker, where the police seized 22 kilograms of herbal cannabis. All suspects are in custody, according to a police spokeswoman.