Thursday, April 24
Drugs bust at BER
Suitcases belonging to two Japanese men, both aged 27, who had travelled from Bangkok via Doha, were flagged by drug-sniffing dogs upon arrival at BER Airport. When customs officers opened the luggage, they discovered numerous vacuum-sealed bags wrapped in grey foil, containing a “greenish-brown, herb-like substance”. A subsequent test confirmed the substance to be cannabis – 68 kilograms of it – making it the largest weed seizure in the airport’s history. Criminal proceedings have been initiated.
This extraordinary find occurred in early April, and if the following weeks are anything to go by, Berlin is going green this spring. Two weeks later, customs officers uncovered another significant haul: 50 kilograms of cannabis, packed in 91 vacuum-sealed bags, found in the luggage of a German woman also arriving from Doha.
Taking the bronze medal place in April’s cannabis-smuggling olympics, a further 30 kilograms were discovered on Easter Monday, once again in the possession of a German woman travelling from Bangkok via Doha.
So, if you happen to be reading this at Bangkok Airport with a suspiciously heavy suitcase, consider yourself warned. The dogs are waiting.
