Gang crime 120 police officers search premises at Cologne/Bonn airport
Cologne/Bonn · Around 120 police officers searched premises at Cologne/Bonn Airport on Wednesday. The background was a case of gang theft.
Late on Wednesday afternoon, 120 police officers searched the premises of a logistics company based at Cologne/Bonn Airport, another freight forwarding company and the site and premises of the municipal waste disposal company AVG. This was announced by the Cologne public prosecutor's office and the Cologne police on Wednesday.
The reason for the search was the suspicion that employees of the companies had allegedly stolen undeliverable, high-value goods. According to customs regulations, the undeliverable goods should have been destroyed. According to the public prosecutor's office, several customs officers are also under investigation.
The 14 accused, who are all between 40 and 63 years old, are alleged to have embezzled parcels containing high-value technology and luxury items, among other things. The parcels were said to be undeliverable due to damaged packaging or missing labels.
The suspects allegedly brought the goods to the AVG depot after the prescribed storage period without having destroyed the items beforehand. On the premises of the waste management company, the alleged perpetrators then divided the parcels among themselves. The investigation is still ongoing.
