Police forces in Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Poland and Spain launched a raid on residential and commercial properties earlier Thursday in a coordinated operation against organized drug crimes.
A total of 32 properties have been searched and 11 arrest warrants have been executed.
In addition, a person has been temporarily detained.
The operation is mainly aimed at areas around Cologne and Bonn in western Germany, the statement said.
An investigation is underway. The attack is part of a preliminary investigation into suspected drug trafficking involving a “large amount”.
The statement added that the purpose of the operation was to ensure evidence and assets related to the alleged criminal activity.
The police and the prosecutor’s office will announce more details about the crackdown at a press conference in Bonn on Friday.
North Rhine-Westparia’s interior minister Herbert Reul said the European-wide action was successful in opposing organized crime. “It is safe to have no hiding place and there is no boundary to prevent prosecution,” he said.
However, he warned that the case also showed that illegal trade in the drug continued to increase a year after Germany’s partial legalization of marijuana.
Police searched the balcony of a residential building. In a European-wide campaign against organized drug crimes, officials have been searching for residential and commercial properties in Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Poland and Spain since the morning. Oliver Berg/DPA
