Swiss perspectives in 10 languages

Buddha head drugs smuggled from Berlin to Basel

Drugs in Buddha head smuggled from Berlin to Basel
Drugs in Buddha head smuggled from Berlin to Basel Keystone-SDA

A drug smuggler has been caught during a border check on a train from Berlin to Basel. Hidden in various cans and a Buddha figure were 13 kilograms of ketamine and one kilogram of MDMA.

The drug smuggler had already fallen into the hands of the so-called German-Swiss Joint Operational Service Group on April 2, as announced by the Federal Office for Customs and Border Security on Monday.

Do you want to read our weekly top stories? Subscribe here.

The traveler and the drugs were handed over to the Basel City cantonal police. For tactical investigative reasons, it was decided to wait before informing the media.

During the baggage check, 28 cans and 8 bags containing an initially unknown substance as well as a decorative figure in the shape of a Buddha head were found.

Examination of the Buddha head revealed that narcotics had been hidden inside it and in the other containers.

Translated from German by DeepL/mga

This news story has been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team. At SWI swissinfo.ch we select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools such as DeepL to translate it into English. Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles.

If you want to know more about how we work, have a look here, if you want to learn more about how we use technology, click here, and if you have feedback on this news story please write to english@swissinfo.ch

External Content
Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Almost finished… We need to confirm your email address. To complete the subscription process, please click the link in the email we just sent you.
Daily news

Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox.

Daily

The SBC Privacy Policy provides additional information on how your data is processed.

Popular Stories

Most Discussed

News

In compliance with the JTI standards

More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative

You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!

If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR