Overview

• Three men received sentences ranging from 10½ to 12½ years for smuggling and trading cocaine, while a fourth was sentenced to 7½ years for aiding the operation.
• A fifth defendant was acquitted due to insufficient evidence proving his knowledge of the cocaine concealed in a banana shipment.
• The 520 kilograms of cocaine, with a purity exceeding 95%, were valued at €25 million and represented over 14 million consumption units.
• The drugs were discovered by German customs in January 2024 at the Port of Hamburg and replaced with decoys before police surveillance led to arrests.
• The trial highlighted the difficulty of identifying the operation's mastermind, despite extensive logistical evidence presented in court.