Particle.news
Download on the App Store

Berlin Police Report Rise in Hard-Drug Crimes as Illegal Market Persists

Police leaders call for a burden-of-proof shift in money-laundering cases to cut off organized-crime profits.

Overview

  • Registered hard-drug offenses in 2025 rose by about 15 percent, with cocaine and crack up roughly 10 percent and amphetamines up 20 percent, while heroin-related crimes fell around 15 percent.
  • Overall recorded drug offenses dropped about 25 percent after cannabis legalization reduced punishable possession cases.
  • Police seized roughly 3.6 tonnes of smuggled cannabis in the first ten months of 2025, underscoring the persistence of the illicit trade.
  • Visits to supervised drug consumption rooms increased from 19,000 to 25,000, which police cite as evidence of higher observed use alongside a large unrecorded market.
  • Authorities say drug smuggling and sales remain a core funding source for organized crime and back federal plans to reverse the burden of proof in money-laundering investigations, alongside continued cooperation with BKA and Customs.