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Accused at trial: The court imposed several years' imprisonment
Photo: Daniel Bockwoldt / dpa
They packed large sums of money in specially prepared suitcases and flew them abroad: In a lawsuit for money laundering amounting to almost eight million euros, the Hamburg district court imposed long prison sentences for the eight defendants.
A 43-year-old received the highest sentence at seven.
His parents, who bought and sold gold as well as a pawnshop in Hamburg, and his brother were also imprisoned for several years.
The verdict is not yet legally binding.
According to the court, the money came from other perpetrators' drug deals, which they handed over to the family.
The family exchanged the mostly small bills for larger bills in order to reduce the amount of money needed for transport.
They then packed the money in specially prepared suitcases that were not noticed in security checks at the airport.
Couriers brought the money to Spain, Ireland and Dubai, among others.
The court assumes more than 60 money transfers.
Four other defendants were money messengers, two of whom were suspended on probation.
The indictment covered the period from September 2019 to July 2020 - during which time the police monitored the gang.
The processes were so well-rehearsed that he assumed the money laundering had started much earlier, said the presiding judge Malte Hansen in his judgment.
File number: 618 KLs 6/20
ptz / dpa