According to the head of the country's Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA), Germany is experiencing a "cocaine wave", and all this is happening against a backdrop of increased demand for and consumption of hard drugs. "Cocaine is spreading rapidly in Germany", warned Holger Münch, quoted by the RND news network. According to him, the focus of the international drug trade is shifting to Europe, as "the North American market is saturated." According to official statistics, cited by the DPA news agency, the number of cocaine-related crimes increased by almost 5% last year in Germany.
Münch also warned of a change in the dynamics of the global heroin market – as a result of the Taliban government's ban on opium production in Afghanistan. "This has led to a shortage and consequently to the replacement of heroin with synthetic opioids, which poses a higher risk for users", the police chief was also quoted as saying.
Money used for corruption
The cocaine invasion in recent years has brought a lot of money into the coffers of organized crime, which is also used for corruption, adds another touch to the topic, public media ARD. The occasion is the start of a trial in Hanover against a prosecutor who leaked secrets from the investigation of a drug gang for a fee. He led the case with the seizure of 16 tons of cocaine - the largest amount of drugs ever discovered in Europe. The accused bribed prosecutor received for his "services" several tens of thousands of euros from the criminal group, the investigation shows, ARD also writes.
The publication quotes Daniel Brombacher from the European Observatory for Organized Crime as saying that for a long time we have been reassured that these things happen abroad, not here. In this regard, the expert warns that this represents a growing danger that society must take seriously, ARD points out.
The legalization of cannabis has made the work of the police more difficult
Munich is also not convinced that it was right to partially legalize cannabis. Since April, the cultivation of small amounts of marijuana for personal use has been allowed in Germany, and adults are allowed to carry up to 25 grams of cannabis in public places
"The partial legalization of cannabis will have no effect on the black market. "These so-called cannabis clubs don't even meet the demand," says Münch, who is adamant that the new legislation has actually made the police's job harder. "When people can legally carry 25 grams in their pockets, it's harder to prove they're dealing," he says.
In the negotiations to form a coalition government, the future participants from the Christian Democratic Union (CDU/CSU) and the Social Democratic Party (SPD) agreed to evaluate the legalization of cannabis - in the fall of 2025, with the conservative CDU in favor of its complete abolition.