Over a tonne of cannabis hidden in Thai bricks: Gdańsk Border Guard breaks up a smuggling ring
Officers of the Maritime Border Guard Unit in Gdańsk have seized nearly 1,200 kilograms of marijuana concealed in containers of laterite bricks. An international operation, carried out together with German services and with support from Europol and Eurojust, led to the break-up of an organised crime group smuggling drugs from Asia to Europe. Eight people aged between 29 and 57 were detained, six of whom were remanded in custody.
In brief
Officers of the Maritime Unit of the Polish Border Guard in Gdańsk seized 1,194 kilograms of marijuana hidden among laterite bricks, with an estimated value of PLN 48 million. The smuggling route ran from Thailand through the port of Hamburg to Poland, where 815 kilograms of cannabis were found in one container and 379 kilograms in another. Eight people aged 29 to 57 were detained, the first on 6 May in Szczecin and the next on 15 June near Poznań. The Gdańsk-Południe District Court remanded six suspects in custody for three months.
Investigators had spent several months targeting a group operating in Poland and Germany. They established that the criminals had set up a cross-border smuggling channel running from Thailand, through the port of Hamburg, to Poland. On the German side, the operation was conducted with the Hanover Customs Office (Bremen branch) and a Joint Investigation Team combating drugs in Oldenburg.
The breakthrough came from close international cooperation based on a European Investigation Order. The exchange of information with German services made it possible to track the containers and document the group's activity.
1,194 kilograms in two containers
The drugs were hidden among laterite bricks. In the first container, at the port of Hamburg, a joint Polish-German team found 815 kilograms of marijuana in a specially prepared compartment. A second container, addressed to the same recipient in Poland, held a further 379 kilograms of cannabis. In total, 1,194 kilograms of drugs were secured, with an estimated value of 48 million zloty (around €11 million).
The first arrests took place on 6 May in Szczecin, where officers detained three men during an attempt to unload the drugs, along with the owner of the company receiving the shipment. Four more people were caught red-handed on 15 June near Poznań. The exchange of information between the countries involved was coordinated by Europol and Eurojust.
Charges and detention
Those detained were charged with the importation and intra-Community smuggling of significant quantities of narcotics, and three of them additionally with participation in an organised crime group. These offences carry sentences of up to 8 and up to 20 years' imprisonment respectively. The Gdańsk-Południe District Court remanded six suspects in custody for three months; one man was placed under police supervision, and one was released after questioning.
The investigation is being supervised by the organised crime and corruption division of the National Public Prosecutor's Office in Gdańsk. The case is described as developing and cross-border, and further steps may yield new findings. According to the Border Guard, the operation confirms the effectiveness of the Maritime Border Guard Unit's cooperation with European partners in combating international drug crime.
Source: Gazeta Morska · Compiled by: Michał Iwański
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