The criminalists called themselves the “Aroma Working Group”: After several months of investigation, a total of 20 people were arrested in the Braunau district and it was proven that they had sold more than 100 kilograms of drugs with a street value of over two million euros. The Romanian gang also used teenagers as “runners”.
In the summer of 2023, an increase in perfume thefts in drugstores was noted in the Braunau district and a Romanian citizen was quickly identified as a suspect. In addition to commercial theft, the Romanian also sold addictive substances in parks. During the search of his work room, a large number of stolen drugstore items, as well as addictive substances and electronic data carriers, were seized. It turned out that the arrested person acted as a subordinate member of a “polycriminal” group of perpetrators based in the Braunau district and originating from the Romanian central area. Most of the perpetrators come from Hunedoara. In autumn 2023, a temporary working group “AROMA” was set up in the Braunau district police command. With success: the investigators were able to reveal the entire structure of the network and identify all members of the criminal organization, some of whom had serious criminal records. The majority of the group came from the same large Romanian city called Hunedoara and stayed in a hotel to carry out their criminal business in the Braunau district. Because some suspects were already being searched for in other countries, the crooks also used fake identification documents. Narcotics came from Spain and the Czech Republic. During surveillance it turns out that the group of perpetrators, in addition to property crimes, primarily made their living through smuggling and trafficking in narcotic drugs. The drugs were smuggled in kilos from Spain and the Czech Republic to the Innviertel and temporarily stored in bunker apartments in Ried and Braunau. Underage subdealers As a result, the higher-level members deliberately used underage, Romanian-born subdealers who sold the drugs to end users in Braunau, Mattighofen and Ried; or on whose behalf they also committed property crimes. The youngest sub-dealer is only 15 years old. The group’s youngest sub-dealer was a Romanian who was only 15 years old at the time of the crime and who had a total of ten kilograms of marijuana and a not insignificant amount of cocaine over a five-month period and sold crystal meth in parks in Mattighofen. Every week, the cash generated was collected again by the gang members. Spanier delivered 15 kilos of addictive substances. Approx. 15 kilos of addictive drugs were transported by a Spanish citizen by train to Salzburg and from there, through a Serbian middleman, to a cellar in Mattighofen before they were distributed by the Romanian group of perpetrators. The Spanish citizen has since been arrested by French customs at the Paris train station in possession of several kilograms of marijuana; The Serbian middleman was arrested in possession of several kilograms of marijuana by AG AROMA officials in Mattighofen. 15 suspects are in custody. 15 people were taken to the Ried, Wels, Linz and Salzburg prisons. The main perpetrator, identified as the man behind the criminal organization, was arrested in Romania as part of targeted searches based on a European arrest warrant and has now been extradited to the Austrian judiciary. The group of perpetrators is accused of smuggling and trafficking in marijuana, cannabis resin, crystal meth and cocaine, but also numerous property crimes, dangerous threats and coercion, as well as perpetrators of false evidence (and much more). The 64-year-old was now the cocaine baron of Braunau The local and cultural scene is shaking. At the end of 2023, Soko AROMA also managed to dismantle another group of perpetrators operating in the Braunau urban area. A 64-year-old self-employed businessman is said to have been selling top-quality cocaine in trendy locations in downtown Braunau since 2020 with the help of his 50-year-old employee. The handovers were made exclusively to very selected customers, the local and cultural scene in the Braunau urban area. At the turn of the year, the 50-year-old subordinate employee was arrested red-handed while selling cocaine to a bar owner and seized drugs and a weapon. Due to his high level of alcohol (over two per mille), the buyer had to have his driver’s license confiscated in addition to the drugs he had purchased. The courier brought “snow” from Berlin. Shortly afterwards, the 64-year-old employer was also arrested during a meeting with his courier driver. The German citizen, who comes from Berlin and has a part-time job, traveled specifically for this purpose in a specially prepared smuggling vehicle. Specially trained officers were able to find a professionally built contraband hiding place in the car; During the course of the search, several thousand euros in drug money were seized, in addition to a large amount of cocaine and cannabis resin. In collaboration with the analysis department of the Upper Austria State Criminal Police Office, smuggling routes and their frequency were reconstructed. Apartment in Braunau used as a bunker Ultimately, the investigation revealed that the 55-year-old Berliner had been using the 64-year-old’s apartment in Braunau as a bunker since 2020. During this time, almost 50 kilograms of drugs, including 9 kilograms of cocaine, were stored for further transport and a not insignificant portion was sold on by the group of perpetrators in Braunau. All three arrested people were taken to the Ried prison.The “Aroma” balance sheetCleared sale of 109 kilograms of addictive substances (48 kilograms of marijuana, 50 kilos of cannabis resin, ten kilos of cocaine, one kilo of methamphetamine) with a street value of: approx. 2 million euros.Secured were • 8.5 kg of marijuana • 1.5 kg of cannabis resin • 50 grams of methamphetamine • 200 grams of cocaine • Approx. 55,000 euros • A car (smuggling vehicle) The street value of the seized drugs was 125,000 euros
source site-12