Austrian police strike major blow against family-run drug ring
Xinhua, March 4, 2015 Adjust font size:
Police here put a family-run drug ring out of business after raids and the arrest of 18 people including dealers and customers in the past week.
About 130 police and WEGA special forces units made simultaneous raids at 15 addresses in Vienna and Lower Austria on February 23 resulting in the arrests that included eight customers, the local media on Tuesday.
The main suspects of the family-run gang are a father, step-mother, 22-year-old daughter, 19-year-old twin sons, two former sons-in-law aged 32 and 37, and the boyfriend of the daughter. Since summer of 2014 they are alleged to have sold over 60,000 U.S. dollars worth of drugs a month.
Two additional suspects based in Vienna and Lower Austria are believed to have helped the family, that refers to itself as "La Familia," sell the drugs, primarily cocaine and marijuana, in Vienna.
The 43-year-old father is also alleged by investigators to have made his children addicted to drugs in order to better use them as dealers.
In addition one of the two twin sons is said to have looked over the growing of 350 marijuana plants in the district of Floridsdorf, while the other son sold drugs near his apartment in Meidling.
Police also found 30,000 dollars in cash and drugs along with guns and other weapons during the various house searches. The family was said to have largely confessed to the charges against them. Endit