261 kg cannabis resin worth EUR 2.5 m seized by Customs in Kufstein Finance Minister Blümel congratulates customs officers on their successful strike against international drug trafficking
During the evening of 19 April 2021, officers at the Innsbruck Customs Office, part of Customs Authority Austria, carried out drug controls in the Kufstein area with support from drug detection dogs, during the course of which they noticed a truck with distinctive Lithuanian signage that had apparently taken a wrong turn. Officers stopped the truck and initially checked the shipping documents, according to which the vehicle had loaded 10 pallets of tiles in the Spanish city of Malaga, destined for Sweden. The officers then inspected the truck's cargo and established that the tiles were of inferior quality.
The experienced customs officers then called on drug detection dog Crack who, after a brief search, pointed to several specific pallets. During the course of a closer examination, the officers ultimately found 261 packages, each containing 1kg of cannabis resin, concealed between the tiles. The seized cannabis had a street value of around EUR 2.5 million.
According to Finance Minister Gernot Blümel, "This narcotics find highlights yet again the importance and effectiveness of regular customs controls in the fight against drug trafficking. Our aim is to intercept dugs at the border, before they enter Austria. I wish to thank the customs officers for their efforts and congratulate them on their huge and vital success."
The truck driver, a 47-year-old Lithuanian national, was arrested, and further investigations at both national and international level are ongoing.