PRAGUE: Customs officers uncovered a Vietnamese gang dealing in marihuana in the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Germany, seizing 45 kilogrammes of the drug in a raid held last Tuesday alone, Jiri Bartak, spokesman for the Czech Customs Administration said.
If convicted, the four main masterminds of the crime will face up to 18 years in prison, Bartak said.
The 45 kilogrammes of the drug were prepared for shipment abroad, he added.
In connection with the case, the fifth man is being prosecuted in Slovakia. The Czech Republic has asked for his extradition.
The customs officers uncovered three cannabis labs in Brno. Along with 45 kilogrammes of marihuana, worth roughly 4.5 million crowns, they also seized 420 cannabis plants.
Slovak customs officers warned the Czech Customs Anti-Drug Unit of the gang last October when they seized a consignment of 9.5 kilogrammes of marihuana from the Czech Republic, Bartak said.
This March, the customs officers in Germany confiscated another 15 kilogrammes of marihuana, he added.
