Trial in Innsbruck

Automatically stored draft

The arrests of 14 men and four women in March 2024 were a significant blow against the drug scene and the notorious rocker group Bandidos, which apparently wanted to establish itself in the Tyrolean lowlands.

(Bild: dpa/Marius Becker (Symbolbild))

Drug squad officers busted members of the notorious biker gang Bandidos in Tyrol last year after smuggling and dealing. Six of them were now on trial in Innsbruck.

They wanted to set up a club on Tyrolean soil and had officially applied for this in Wörgl. But at the beginning of March - as reported - the handcuffs clicked for 18 suspected members of the notorious biker gang Bandidos.

Smuggling to Tyrol on a grand scale 
Months of investigations, tailing and bugging led to the arrest of 14 men and four women who were alleged to have smuggled large quantities of cocaine from Italy to Tyrol and circulated it throughout the country.

During what was probably the last trip over the Brenner Pass, the alleged head of the gang (37) and another local man were arrested with 600 grams of "snow" in their luggage at the main toll station in Schönberg. A search of the Bandidos chapter and the main suspects' houses revealed brass knuckles, manslaughter clubs, stun guns, a blank-firing weapon and several other prohibited weapons.

Six defendants had to sit before a panel of lay judges led by Judge Andreas Fleckl at Innsbruck Regional Court.

(Bild: Markus Stegmayr, Krone KREATIV)

Between genuine remorse and partial confessions
On Thursday, six of the men - born between 1964 and 1992 - finally had to stand trial in Innsbruck for the smuggling trips between July 2021 and March 2024. Although the defendants all confessed for the most part, some of them questioned the internal aspects of the crime.

For example, one Bandidos member claimed not to have known exactly how much cocaine he was smuggling, while another claimed to have told the first defendant at the beginning of the offences that he actually "wanted nothing to do with drug smuggling and drug dealing in general".

Symbol photo

(Bild: P. Huber)

Judge Andreas Fleckl considered such claims to be "absolutely unrealistic". Phone calls and other communications would clearly prove that "more was said and communicated than was done". All those involved must therefore have been aware of everything at all times. "The inner side of the crime is therefore completely beyond doubt," the presiding judge was convinced.

The first defendant - the mastermind and head of the activities - did not make any further statements in court, merely referring to his statement and confession via his defense lawyer. However, a whopping six kilos of cocaine are said to be his alone. In the end, the quantities of cocaine charged were revised downwards, but in the end a total of just under ten kilos remained.

Relief after verdicts
Five Bandidos - the sixth will be dealt with separately due to a request for evidence by his defense lawyer - were ultimately convicted. Due to the high sentences, some of the defendants were visibly relieved at the verdicts.

The first defendant, who had a relevant criminal record, was sentenced to six and a half years, the co-defendants to two three-year sentences, one two-year sentence and one 18-month sentence. "Sentences with a sense of proportion", Judge Fleckl was keen to emphasize. The first defendant accepted the sentence immediately, the others only received partial sentences.