Zug police smashes drug dealer ring

The Zug law enforcement authorities have achieved a great success: As part of an inter-cantonal police action, members of the Zug law enforcement agencies conducted several house searches. The result: three indoor cannabis installations were detected and nine people were arrested. The coordinated action took place last Monday.

"It is a major case, where the criminal energy is very high," confirms Judith Aklin, media spokeswoman for the Zug law enforcement agencies. It involves multiple qualified offences against the Narcotics Act, including trading, money laundering and fraud. "The investigation took about a year and has been very intense," adds Aklin.

The alleged organisers were also caught by the Zug police: on the basis of warrants issued by the Zug prosecutor, a 48-year-old man from Serbia and his 32-year-old wife from Montenegro were arrested in Baar on Monday morning. The couple are at the centre of the investigation, according to the police media release. There is a strong suspicion that they led a drug dealer ring together with a group of accomplices. Searches were carried out on Monday in eleven locations in the cantons of Zug, Lucerne, Zurich, Aargau and Bern, in both private apartments and business premises. In addition, large, professionally managed indoor cannabis installations were uncovered in Hünenberg, in the city of Lucerne (Littau district) and in Wilen at Utzenstorf BE.

This cannabis installation was uncovered in Hünenberg. (Picture: PD)

"We had to assume that the operators were professionals, and so it was," said the police spokeswoman. In total, the police secured more than 3,500 plants, ten kilograms of ready-to-use marijuana, a firearm and 80,000 francs in cash. Four men who had built and managed the facilities on behalf of the couple were arrested. A further three people were arrested during the other house searches. "The action was a complete success and went as planned," assures Judith Aklin.
 

Comparable to "Action Hamburg"
The nine suspects were handed over to a four-member law team of the Zug public prosecutor's office. One of the accused was released on Tuesday due to lack of proof of criminal activity, while the other eight have been remanded in custody pending further investigations. "The use of such a team of lawyers is an innovation”, explains Aklin, “but is of great advantage given the dimensions of the case." The processing of the case and the associated administrative effort are enormous, she adds. "The work is really starting now, including the interrogations of all the accused.”

The case is comparable with the "Action Hamburg", when the Canton of Zug struck a blow against the trafficking of heroin trade. 15 people were arrested at the time and 55 kilograms of heroin seized. "Two years of investigation work preceded that. The criminal energy was also very high, "recalls Aklin.