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Police photo by Hans Ulrich Bücker
Photo: SPIEGEL ONLINE
In November 2011, customs officials stopped a VW van on the A31 in France.
They ask for cash.
The driver says he comes from a construction site in Germany.
He has 4000 euros with him.
Not more.
The customs officers searching wagons.
You will find money.
Lot of money.
24,500 euros are in a small brown suede bag.
There are two inconspicuous wooden panels in the hold, with 215,000 euros hidden in them.
Small bills, even five, are among them.
The man doesn't say where the money comes from.
A dog smells drug traces.
The driver has six cell phones with him.
Investigators later christen him "El Maestro".
The master.
For years the police chased the man out of the VW van.
The name is Hans Ulrich Bücker and is said to be a major player in the international drug trade.
The case is a European crime thriller.
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