Overview

• Parts of the Cologne Regional Court were evacuated after an unattended suitcase was found shortly before an expected verdict.
• A court spokesperson said hearings were suspended while police examined the luggage.
• Police later reported the suitcase belonged to someone who had forgotten it, and the building reopened.
• The interrupted session was set to resume in the afternoon with a verdict expected afterward, according to local reporting.
• The case is one of several tied to what investigators describe as a ‘Cologne drug war,’ including a theft of about 350 kilograms from a Hürth marijuana stash.