Worked with the mafia

Drug deals: Young lawyer (33) already convicted

Narcotics and cash seized(Bild: LPD Wien)

The network of an Austria-wide drug gang is almost impossible to see through. 15 main suspects are now under investigation and the head of the organization has also been caught in Spain. Part of the investigation was started by a 31-year-old former trainee lawyer - who was part of the mafia group. And has already been convicted.

For a year, a former trainee lawyer from Styria supplemented his salary with drug trafficking. He worked with a mafia group that operated throughout Europe - and did not shy away from violence.

Further arrest
Investigations have been ongoing since October 2023 by the Vienna Regional Criminal Police Office, East Central Branch and the Styrian Regional Criminal Police Office. In the meantime, 15 main suspects have been identified one after the other. A fugitive 23-year-old Austrian was arrested on January 10. The accusation: the men and women are alleged to have imported kilograms of drugs from Spain to Austria between September 2023 and April 2024 and then sold them - primarily in the Vienna area. 

Partial prison sentence for ex-lawyer trainee
However, the mafia group also did business in Styria. For example with the 33-year-old lawyer, who was already working as a self-employed artist at the time. The public prosecutor's office in Graz investigated and the case was heard at the regional court in Leoben in October 2024: the sentence was 14 months' partial imprisonment. The Styrian actually had to serve four of them. He has already served that time, the prosecution confirmed.

And other parties involved have also already received their sentences in Leoben. However, the majority of the case is still pending at the Vienna public prosecutor's office - as are the investigations against a 30-year-old Austrian, the alleged head of the organization. Sascha Flatz's client was arrested in Spain in June 2024.

Kilos of narcotics
However, charges against the main accused will probably be a long time coming due to the scale of the case. After all, at this stage, 95 kilograms of cannabis, 511 grams of MDMA, 237 grams of cocaine, two and a half kilograms of ketamine and two handguns are involved ...