German Authorities Arrest 11 in Chemical Revolution Takedown

A press release from the Federal Criminal Police Office revealed that German law enforcement had seized “Chemical Revolution,” the largest private vendor shop in Germany. During the operation, law enforcement arrested 11 suspects for drug trafficking and related crimes.

Summary

The investigation began in 2018 after law enforcement arrested a 26-year-old suspect from Brandenburg for crimes connected to drug trafficking. During the arrest, the police found “just under 50 kilograms of amphetamine, 16 kilograms of cannabis, 2 kilograms of MDMA, 900 grams of cocaine, 600 grams of heroin and a high number of ecstasy tablets, and LSD tabs.” Investigators learned that the suspect had been storing the drugs for Chemical Revolution.

The investigation involved the German Federal Criminal Police Office as well as the French Criminal Police, according to the announcement. Below is the translated press release:

Press Release

The General Prosecutor’s Office Frankfurt am Main - Central Office for the Suppression of Cybercrime (ZIT) - and the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) have shut down Germany’s largest drug online shop “Chemical Revolution” within the scope of extensive operational measures in the period from 13.02.2019 to 28.05.2019 and a total of 11 suspected platform executives were detained on no account for the strong suspicion of drug-related drug dealing. The server of the drug online shop was secured by officials of the Federal Criminal Police Office and the French Criminal Police. The investigation success is the result of extensive international investigations.

“The server of the drug online shop was secured by officials of the Federal Criminal Police Office and the French Criminal Police.”

The starting point for the recording of prosecutorial investigations was the arrest of a 26-year-old suspect from Brandenburg on the Havel in the spring of 2018, who acted on the findings of the BKA with narcotic drugs. In Hessen and Niedersachsen, considerable amounts of narcotics were seized, including just under 50 kilograms of amphetamine, 16 kilograms of cannabis, 2 kilograms of MDMA, 900 grams of cocaine, 600 grams of heroin and a high number of ecstasy tablets and so-called LSD trips. The suspect is said to have stored the narcotics for an unknown, under the name “Chemical Revolution” acting offenders grouping and prepared for shipment to individual customers. As part of the subsequent extensive investigation, 10 other alleged members of the group of offenders were identified and arrested.

The 26-year-old from the district of Munich originating main suspect, who had his last residence on Mallorca / Spain, is accused of the drug online shop with the name “Chemical Revolution” in September 2017 and then operated together with other suspects. On the website of the online shop narcotics, especially synthetic drugs (ecstasy, MDMA, amphetamine), heroin, cocaine and cannabis were offered for sale and worldwide shipping. The buyers paid the narcotics with the crypto-currency Bitcoin. In addition to the sale via its own online shop, the group of perpetrators around the 26-year-old German national narcotics and over the (in the meantime switched off by the Attorney General Frankfurt am Main and the Federal Criminal Investigation) Darknet online marketplace “Wall Street Market” and sold. The 26-year-old chief suspect is mainly responsible for overseeing the sale of narcotics over the Internet, coordinating the procurement of narcotics, and managing the funds of the offender’s group. He was arrested on 28.05.2019 on his re-entry into Germany on the basis of a warrant of the District Court Giessen and has since been in custody.

In addition to the 26-year-old main suspect in the extensive investigation further suspected members of the group of offenders could be arrested. Thus, on 13.02.2019, a 43-year-old Dutch national was arrested while handing over a total of 14 kg of various narcotics in Hamburg. He is suspected of procuring the narcotic drugs for sale in the Netherlands and organizing their transport to Germany. Since then he has been in custody on the basis of an arrest warrant issued by the Gießen District Court. Also on 13.02.2019 a 24-year-old German citizen from Hamburg was arrested, who is said to have organized the shipment of drugs sold for the group of offenders. A 34-year-old German citizen from Hamburg is suspected of having rented a flat in Hamburg for the group of offenders, in which the ready-to-ship packaging of narcotics for the individual buyers took place. He was arrested on 19.02.2019 on the basis of an arrest warrant issued by the Gießen District Court and is in custody. Also on 19.02.2019, a 26-year-old German citizen from Hamburg, who was alleged to have been responsible for the packaging of the narcotic drugs and a 25-year-old German citizen from Hamburg, who is said to have organized the delivery of the drug packages to the logistics service providers be arrested by arrest warrants of the district court casting. These suspects are also in custody.

On 25.02.2019, a 35-year-old suspect from the district Teltow-Fläming was arrested on the basis of a warrant of the district court Gießen. The German citizen is said to have organized the transport of the narcotics from the Netherlands to Germany for resale. On 28.02.2019 took place in the district of Diepholz due to a warrant of the district court casting the arrest of one in the Woiwo
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Lodz, a resident of 44-year-old Polish national, allegedly responsible as a courier for the transport of narcotics to Germany. On 27.03.2019, a 32-year-old Polish national resident in Kielce, Poland, who is also suspected of acting as a courier for the group of offenders, was arrested in Poland on the basis of a European arrest warrant. He was delivered to Germany on 12.04.2019 to carry out the criminal proceedings. On 29.04.2019, a 29-year-old German citizen from Hamburg was arrested in Dusseldorf on the basis of an arrest warrant issued by the Gießen district court, which is said to have organized the shipment of narcotics within the group of offenders.

The Attorney General Frankfurt - Central Office for the Suppression of Cybercrime (ZIT) - and the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) would like to thank the participating police authorities of the federal states as well as the partner authorities in the Netherlands, Poland, France and Spain for the very good cooperation.

Signed Georg Ungefuk, senior prosecutor

Source: BKA

H/T: Katzemietz on Reddit.