Sold in bars

Smuggling across the border: married couple as cocaine dealers

The couple allegedly collected 100 euros for one gram of cocaine.

(Bild: Scharinger Daniel)

Carinthian narcotics investigators have struck a successful blow in the fight against drugs: after extensive investigations, a married couple were caught who had allegedly been smuggling cocaine across the border from Slovenia for months and selling it for profit in bars and restaurants in Austria. Arrest!  

Investigators had the Slovenian couple under close scrutiny for several months - something the couple had obviously not suspected. Although they had already been caught with cocaine in their luggage during a check at the Loibl tunnel border crossing at the beginning of the year, the duo had no intention of stopping their lucrative business.

Until recently, the suspects continued to commute regularly and unabashedly across various border crossings in order to finally resell the narcotics acquired in Slovenia to their customers in bars in Carinthia for a profit. While the husband was mainly responsible for the smuggling trips, the wife took over the sales.

After meticulously gathering sufficient information and evidence, the investigators now launched an all-out attack: The investigators placed the couple in handcuffs, and in their bunker apartment in Klagenfurt they seized not only narcotics but also numerous items of paraphernalia indicating a lively drug trade.

Drugs organized in Ljubljana
At this stage, the detectives believe that the two suspects have smuggled at least 200 grams of cocaine from Slovenia (mainly from Ljubljana) across the border to Carinthia since the beginning of the year, earning around 20,000 euros. Further investigations are still ongoing. The couple is separated for the time being - at least physically. Both are in their respective cells.