German Man Avoids Prison in Attempted Drug Possession Case

A German man who admitted purchasing ecstasy and amphetamine on the darkweb avoided prison by telling the judge he had changed his ways.

The Ibbenbüren district court sentenced a 31-year-old German man to a suspended sentence after he admitted ordering drugs on the darkweb.

The 31-year-old defendant from Lengerich, North Rhine-Westphalia, was accused of ordering ecstasy pills and amphetamine on the darkweb on several occasions in the period between October 10, 2018, and March 13, 2019. During an earlier hearing, the defendant admitted he had ordered both drugs through the darkweb.

During the defendant’s sentencing hearing, the prosecution told the court that the defendant had ordered 250 ecstasy pills and 100 grams of amphetamine from an undisclosed source on the darkweb. The defendant then admitted that he had ordered drugs from the darkweb regularly but he had rarely received any of the packages. He assumed, at the time, that German Customs had intercepted his packages.

He also said that it was impossible for the prosecution to accurately calculate the total combined weights of the drugs he had purchased because the majority of the vendors sent more drugs than he had purchased.

By pleading guilty, the defendant risked receiving a two-year prison sentence; the court had previously sentenced him to six months for fraud in January 2019. This time, however, the defendant told the court that he had gone to rehab and changed his ways. The court seemingly believed his dubious claim.

The prosecution asked for a prison sentence of two years, while the defense attorney asked for a suspended sentence of one year and six months.

The presiding judge sentenced the defendant to a suspended sentence of one year and six months for attempting to acquire drugs. The Judge said he had based his decision on the defendant’s confession as well as favorable statements from the defendant’s probation officer.