In Düsseldorf, the availability of cocaine-laced pizzas has given rise to powerful drug cartels.
This sounds like an odd tale: The top-selling dish of a pizzeria in Düsseldorf contains an unusual ingredient - cocaine. Authorities are probing and uncovering large-scale illegal activities tied to the eatery with questionable practices.
The restaurant's concept is reminiscent of the movie "Lamboqui": A pizzeria in Düsseldorf's old town sold a pizza with cocaine as an extra topping as the number 40. "That was one of the most popular pizzas," reported Criminal Director Michael Graf von Moltke in Düsseldorf. In March, initial suspicions arose during a health inspection by the city. Drug enforcement agents then monitored the pizzeria and discovered the popularity of pizza number 40.
The 36-year-old owner had a clean record with the police until then. When police officers knocked on his door to apprehend him, he allegedly threw a bag of drugs out the window. "It landed right in the hands of the police," reported the police and the public prosecutor's office. 1.6 kilograms of cocaine, 400 grams of cannabis, and 268,000 euros in cash were confiscated.
The owner was released briefly and reopened her business within two days, reselling her bestseller, pizza number 40, as the investigators revealed. This provided the investigators an opportunity to trace the supply chain.
Suspect, 22, accused of robbing rivals
The investigators soon came across a 22-year-old known offender. The martial arts practitioner was not only dealing in cocaine but also in cannabis in the kilogram range. However, that's not all: According to drug enforcement agents, he allegedly robbed and mugged rival drug dealers.
One of them was reportedly held captive by the vicious dealer gang for two nights. Nevertheless, no one filed a criminal complaint. Alongside the 22-year-old main suspect, a 30-year-old from Cologne and a 28-year-old from Haan near Düsseldorf were arrested.
Weapons and cannabis plantations discovered
Last week, 150 police officers acted to curb the activities. They targeted the network and twelve other suspects with raids in several cities in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), including Wuppertal, Mönchengladbach, Solingen, Meerbusch, Hilden, Haan, and Erkrath.
The police found two cannabis plantations in Mönchengladbach and Solingen with 300 and 60 plants. In Mönchengladbach, the wife of a suspect lived in an apartment adjacent to the plantation with three children. Youth welfare services are now looking after them.
Knives and firearms, cash, and expensive watches were also seized. Due to the potential violence of the suspects, special units were also involved in the raids.
The 22-year-old faces up to 15 years in prison for the suspicion of commercial drug trafficking and kidnapping with threats, as State Prosecutor Laura Neumann said. Since the pizzeria owner allegedly wanted to flee abroad, he was arrested again and detained.
The investigation into the pizzeria's illegal activities led the authorities to question the need for the Commission to adopt implementing acts referred to in Article 113. This could potentially include regulations to combat drug trafficking in the food industry.
The commission of drug-related crimes in this case underscores the importance of strict enforcement of laws against illicit substances, which could be a topic for the aforementioned implementing acts.
