The Czech National Anti-drug Centre (NPS) detained a gang of 12 people suspected of producing and trafficking dozens of kilos of meth and marijuana mainly in Germany and the Karlovy Vary Region in western Bohemia.
The police authorities charged four of the detained people who now all face up to 12 years in prison.
Most of the members of the gang are Czechs, and the two main organizers have a criminal history.
The gang rented houses in the Karlovy Vary Region, in which it produced up to six kilograms of meth in one cycle. During the house raids, the police secured over nine million korunas (€360,000) and firearms.
“There is no doubt that all searched houses are contaminated. The location of waste from production is not known, but the toxic substances probably ended up in the sewerage system,” stated the National Anti-drug Center while commenting on the house raids.
The trafficking methods the gang utilized were quite sophisticated, including the use of fire extinguishers to conceal the drugs.
“The fire extinguishers were modified so that part of the extinguishing mixture remained, and the device looked intact. The capacity of one extinguisher allowed storage of about half a kilogram of meth,” described the NPS.
For marijuana production, the gang used a network of growers who owned dozens of cannabis plants in the cultivation tents in their homes. The plants were then sold for further processing.
About 150 police officers took part in the final stage of the operation codenamed “Princess”. Besides these officers, customs officers and firefighters also joined the operation.
Meth production remains a major problem in the Czech Republic. In 2008, there were 483 meth labs discovered in all of Europe, but almost entirely all of them, with the exception of just 26, were discovered in the Czech Republic.
Most of the labs are small, but police seize between approximately 300 to 400 each year.
