German police say pizza order No. 40 was accompanied by cocaine

by admin
German police say pizza order No. 40 was accompanied by cocaine

BERLIN (AP) — German police busted a pizzeria in the western city of Düsseldorf that also issued a parallel order…

BERLIN (AP) — German police busted a pizzeria in the western city of Dusseldorf that also delivered a follow-up order of cocaine when customers asked for item number 40 on the menu.

“It was one of the best-selling pizzas,” criminal director Michael Graf von Moltke told reporters in Düsseldorf.

He said police were first alerted by suspicious food inspectors in March. When drug squad officers began observing the restaurant, they quickly discovered why pizza number 40 was so popular, Moltke told reporters on Monday, German news agency dpa reported.

When police searched the pizzeria manager’s apartment, the 36-year-old man allegedly threw a bag of drugs out of the window, which “fell directly into the arms of the police officers”, Düsseldorf police said. The bounty included 1.6 kilograms (3.5 pounds) of cocaine, 400 grams (14.1 ounces) of cannabis and 268,000 euros ($290,378) in cash.

Police said the restaurant manager, who was released after a few days, quickly reopened his business and began selling pizza number 40 again with a follow-up order of cocaine. This gave investigators the opportunity to examine the supply chain and, after several weeks, some 150 police officers dismantled an entire drug network in western Germany, arrested three suspects, including the trafficking boss drug offender, aged 22, and searched the homes and businesses of 12 other suspects.

During the searches, they discovered two cannabis plantations in the vicinity of Mönchengladbach and Solingen, containing 300 and 60 plants respectively. They also found sharp and stabbed weapons, as well as cash and expensive watches, dpa reported.

The pizzeria manager was arrested while trying to flee abroad and remains in detention. No names of the suspects have been released, in line with German confidentiality rules.

Police did not say how much the pizzeria charged for the special order.

Copyright © 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.

Source Link

You may also like

Leave a Comment