Status: 21/09/2023, 17:32 p.m.
CommentsShare
A police vehicle. © Marijan Murat/dpa/Symbolbild
The Berlin police are once again investigating within their own ranks and have carried out searches against an officer on suspicion of drug trafficking. The 40-year-old is said to have provided various vehicles as a shareholder in a car rental company and received proportionate profits from the drug business, as the police and the public prosecutor's office jointly announced on Thursday.
The police officer is one of the main suspects. His accomplice is said to be the 32-year-old managing director of the company.
In total, the investigations were directed against seven defendants between the ages of 24 and 63, it said. Around 200 police officers searched 17 properties in Berlin and Brandenburg on Thursday morning. Data carriers, around 10,000 euros, narcotic substances, live ammunition and a vehicle were confiscated.
According to the information, the suspects were temporarily in police custody, but were released after they had been identified. The accused police officer was released from duty, said a spokeswoman for the prosecutor's office. Disciplinary action had been taken against him. However, these were suspended until the outcome of the criminal proceedings.
In recent months, several cases had become known in which Berlin police officers had been targeted by investigators. In mid-August, for example, it became known that a police officer is said to have stopped a motorist during a fake identity check and robbed him of tens of thousands of euros. In February, investigators carried out a large-scale raid against two police officers accused of bribery and corruption.
In 2022, a total of 27 disciplinary proceedings were initiated at the Berlin police with around 000,253 employees, according to the authority. Dpa
