"Operation Roadrunner": Strike Against Domestic Drug Scene

The gang was exposed, not least because one of the dealers was noticed in connection with a traffic offence at a GTI meeting. The Federal Criminal Police Office attributes the trade of 80 kilograms of cocaine, among other things, to the suspects arrested in the "Operation Roadrunner", who are Austrian citizens aged between 25 and 30 years, according to a statement released on Sunday.

Blow Against Drug Scene in Austria

One of the accused acted as an accountant, another was responsible for the warehouse and worked as a courier. "In addition to a salary, he also received Christmas bonus and a 'company car'", it was reported. The cocaine was smuggled in from two sources abroad. A traffic offence led to the identification of one of the accused. He was recognised in a video around the annual GTI meeting in Carinthia, after he had been reported there for an administrative offence. The five accused are in pre-trial detention.

Like many professionally organised groups of offenders, the suspects used crypto messenger services. Last October, house searches and arrests took place simultaneously at several locations on the orders of the Vienna Public Prosecutor's Office. Assets worth 300,000 euros were seized - cash, crypto wallets and vehicles. The investigations were led by the "Achilles" working group of the Federal Criminal Police Office, which was set up in 2021 to combat criminal networks operating via encrypted crypto messenger services.

(APA/Red)

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