A helicopter, house searches and large quantities of narcotics: the police arrested eight people in the Ruhr area in connection with drug-related crime.
[Duisburg -] During a spectacular operation against drug crime, special police units arrested a total of eight people in the Ruhr area on Friday evening.
Six people were arrested in Duisburg and two more in Essen and Bottrop, a spokesman for the Essen police said on Saturday upon request. A helicopter was also used during the action. Several people were reportedly stopped in a van in Duisburg.
“Extensive evidence” was secured during the apartment searches in Essen and Bottrop, the spokesman said. Among them are “larger amounts of narcotics”, which are presumably marijuana. Vehicles were also confiscated. All eight people arrested should be brought before the judge on Saturday. The “Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung” (online) reported on the operation.
The police spokesman said the police spokesman had been investigating Essen for a long time in cooperation with the Cologne police and the Hessian police. The operation on Friday evening was a “planned access” and was carried out by the Essen police. A drug case is pending at the Essen public prosecutor’s office. The Essen police will not announce more details until Monday in a press release. [dpa]
