WARSAW: Some 19 people were arrested for production of methamphetamine that was sold in the Czech Republic, Germany and Austria.
Czech and Polish police worked together on an international operation called “BAT,” and described the gang as highly sophisticated, constantly changing locations and having a strict division of labor.
The gang was broken up at the end of 2015 but police just released the information. “Especially with regard to the quantity of methamphetamine produced and seized and the scope of the organized group it is the largest anti-drug police intervention in 2015. The method of committing crime by the group in additional reflects the latest trends in illegal trafficking in methamphetamine in our area,” Czech Police chief Tomáš Tuhý said in a news release.
The investigation took a year and a half and involved national and regional police and customs officials from the Czech Republic and Border Police from Poland.
On the Czech side, 13 people were arrested including two Czechs and 11 Vietnamese. Six were arrested in Poland.
All of the accused on the Czech side are in custody and face up to 18 years in prison.
The group is accused of not only selling methamphetamine, also called pervitin locally, but also brokering deals and selling ingredients to other manufacturers.
The group sold the methamphetamine for Kč 210,000 per kilogram, according to police.
Altogether, the BAT operation netted about 50 kg of methamphetamine, 90 kg of medicines containing pseudoephedrine and a large amount of related chemicals.
The group made the drug in West Bohemia, Central Bohemia, the Ústí nad Labem region and Prague.
A production cycle lasted about five days and could result in 30 to 50 kilos of meth. The pseudoephedrine tablets to make the drug came Poland and were made in Turkey.
During the investigation, three couriers were caught with 23 kilos of meth.
The Czech part of the raid at the end of 2015 took place in the Czech towns of Dubí, Žatec, Teplice, Prague, Cheb, Hrádek nad Nisou, Podbořany, Jirny and Jíloviště.
More that 20 houses and 15 other properties were searched. Police seized two large meth labs, 10 luxury cars worth Kč 4 million, two large villas worth Kč 10 million and Kč 15 million.
“Drug-related crime is an ongoing priority for the Czech Police, at all levels, from international organized groups through street distribution, drug transport, to the prevention of substance abuse and increasing awareness of laws in this area. Illegal drugs are perceived as a major problem not only in relation to primary drug crime, but also with regard to related offenses, and they are also a major risk factor in excluded localities,” Tuhý said.
Methamphetamine has long been the most problematic drug in the Czech Republic, according to police. Recently the manufacturing and distribution has been becoming more commercialized, and production volumes have increased to meet demand from Germany and Austria in particular, the police stated.
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