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Germany and Italy Stage Coordinated Raids Targeting Suspected Transnational Drug Network

Forensic analysis of the seized evidence will guide next steps.

Overview

  • Police and prosecutors in Duisburg said teams searched 15 sites in North Rhine‑Westphalia and four in Calabria in a joint operation against organized drug trafficking.
  • Authorities focused on six men aged 40 to 52 suspected of large‑scale marijuana and cocaine trafficking and of supporting a criminal organization abroad.
  • Reports differ on immediate detentions, with two or three suspects taken into custody, including a 46‑year‑old Italian restaurant owner in Hilden and a 35‑year‑old found at a cannabis site.
  • Seizures included a plantation with more than 1,000 plants in Weilerswist, roughly €500,000 in cash in Hilden, and a loaded firearm recovered from a Wuppertal facility.
  • Local media cited a possible ’Ndrangheta connection, which prosecutors have not confirmed, while investigators continue to examine documents and digital devices.