Twenty-Member Drug Ring Smashed: Over 20 kg of Cocaine and Weapons Seized in Berlin Raids

After roughly two years of investigation, police carried out coordinated raids across Berlin and Brandenburg, targeting a suspected 20-person drug-trafficking organisation. Eight men aged between 26 and 42 were arrested; a total of 20 suspects aged 19 to 57 are under investigation. Officers searched almost 30 locations spanning several Berlin districts — 12 sites alone in Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg, with further searches in Tempelhof-Schöneberg, Neukölln, Mitte, Pankow, and Lichtenberg — as well as two sites in Blankenfelde-Mahlow in Brandenburg. Investigators recovered more than 20 kilograms of cocaine, approximately €100,000 in cash, and several weapons and knives. An arrest-warrant hearing was scheduled for the day following the raids to determine whether those detained would be held in pre-trial detention.