Arrest of an Iranian in Germany on Charges of Leading an International Drug Trafficking Gang

The criminal police of North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany arrested a 63-year-old Iranian-German on charges of leading an international drug trafficking gang. He had come to Germany years ago as a political refugee. The identity of this individual, who was both leading this large drug trafficking gang and receiving social welfare benefits from Germany, has been announced as Gholamhossein N. According to the German police, 400,000 euros in cash and 71 kilograms of cocaine and opium were discovered from his small home near the central train station in Düsseldorf. As reported by the police, this gang has traded at least five million euros through international drug trafficking between Canada, Australia, Japan, and the United States. Gholamhossein N., who was previously convicted in 2004 for trafficking 260 kilograms of raw opium and sentenced to eight years in prison, was conditionally released after five years and went to Turkey. He was supposed to go to prison for drug trafficking there as well but eventually returned to Germany, where he resumed his operations exactly from where he had previously stopped, according to the German police. Gholamhossein N., with the help of his son and several others, including an Iranian refugee, had created a network that, according to the German police, identified individuals in places like nightclubs who were 'naive' and had financial problems, using them as couriers for their smuggled shipments. The police stated that the pattern of this network was to find individuals who not only did not attract attention but were also 'foolish' enough to agree to transport their ready-made suitcases to Japan or Australia for a pocket money of 1,000 euros. The drug couriers of this network had no idea how severe the penalties for drug trafficking in Australia were and were only happy about taking a short free trip. As reported by Spiegel, for example, the penalty for importing two kilograms of cocaine in Australia is life imprisonment. Currently, five Germans in Australia and another person in Japan have been arrested on these charges. Gholamhossein N.'s recent activities and his team's operations were uncovered after two Germans were caught in Australia with an oven containing 50 kilograms of cocaine. The Australian police also found a fingerprint of a man on this oven, which later turned out to belong to Gholamhossein N. The German police have stated that they have interrogated 40 people in this connection, and eight of them are currently in custody for further questioning and investigation. Reports indicate that a woman who worked at a travel agency and paid the travel costs of the drug couriers in cash managed to escape before the trial. The German criminal police announced that Mr. N. acted very 'professionally' as the leader of this gang, using encrypted messaging for communication. He also used the internet for phone communication, which, according to German laws, is nearly impossible to monitor. The police believe that Gholamhossein N. was aware of this. The German police believe that Gholamhossein N. has supporters in Iran and Australia and likely transferred the income from drug trafficking there. However, a spokesperson or other officials from the North Rhine-Westphalia police did not provide further clarification on this matter and did not clearly state what they meant by 'supporters' of N. As Spiegel wrote, although it has been reported that Gholamhossein N. came to Germany as a political refugee in 1985, he traveled to Iran frequently after his arrival in this country and had connections with Iranian banks. The German criminal police have raised the question of how Iranian institutions, despite the ease of obtaining information about this individual's criminal activities in Germany, have ignored this issue. According to this report, Mr. N.'s actions and his team's operations were also conducted under the cover of a legal import-export business run by his son to Iran. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration stated in the early 1990s, after N.'s initial drug trafficking activities, that the income from his illegal trade was sent to Iran, but at that time, the agency was unable to identify the recipient.