A regional court has sentenced five members of an international drug-trafficking network to between three-and-a-half and ten years in prison, the Essen customs investigation office (Zollfahndungsamt Essen) announced on 17 September 2026. The sentences, handed down on 14 September, conclude proceedings against a twelve-person group that authorities say ran an organized, cross-border trade in narcotics.
Customs investigators, working with the Duisburg public prosecutor’s office, trace the case back to a coordinated enforcement action in October 2024. Over the course of the investigation, officers seized more than seven tonnes of cannabis, over 500 kilograms of cocaine and methamphetamine, roughly 2,000 litres of liquid used to manufacture synthetic drugs, quantities of ecstasy and LSD, ketamine, and cannabis-infused sweets. More than €450,000 in proceeds was confiscated. Seven other members of the same group were sentenced separately in April 2026.
The court found the defendants substantially involved in the organized international import and sale of narcotics. The case forms part of a broader enforcement effort against drug-trafficking networks operating in and through North Rhine-Westphalia.
Source: Zollfahndungsamt Essen, official press release, 17 September 2026.
