Overview

• A coordinated July 16–17 operation led by Zollfahndungsamt München with European partners resulted in arrests in Portugal, the UK, the Netherlands and Germany.
• Four principal suspects were detained, including a 40-year-old German national who ordered precursors from China and his 33-year-old former partner accused of arranging straw accounts.
• Searches of 13 sites uncovered 110 ampoules of powder-form substances in North Rhine-Westphalia and a confiscated sailboat off the Portuguese coast.
• Investigators uncovered a supply chain that smuggled concentrated psychoactive precursors into NRW for synthesis into so-called Legal Highs sold online as herbal blends and bathing salts.
• Financial inquiries into shell companies and straw-man accounts are underway after authorities estimated the network generated up to €1.5 million in annual proceeds.