Overview

• The main defendant, known as ‘Kokain-Kalle,’ was convicted of leading a network that moved nearly 900 kilograms of cocaine across Europe between 2018 and 2022 and received a 12-year sentence.
• Six co-defendants were sentenced to terms ranging from four years and three months up to eight years for aiding the vehicle-based courier operation.
• Investigators found that orders came from high-ranking members of the Italian ’Ndrangheta’ and Albanian criminal groups, with drugs hidden in specially modified cars on over 50 runs from the Netherlands and Belgium to Italy.
• Judges deemed all transports as organized drug trafficking but ruled that the German suspects did not form a formal criminal organization.
• Defendants may appeal the verdicts as the court enforces the seizure of more than €2 million in proceeds from the smuggling network.