After the French and Dutch decrypted the service provider Encrochat, the investigators in Berlin struck.
It must have been like being in a beehive at Heiko F. (49) in Biesdorf: there was diligent gathering and harvesting. Except that it wasn’t about sweet nectar, it was a lot of marijuana and cocaine.
And up to the 45-kilo delivery. The profit: almost 1.8 million euros. The sweet life was over for him and his comrades-in-arms Eduard Z. (23) and Jean L. (31) after investigators from France and the Netherlands cracked the service provider Encrochat and the drug deals were exposed.
The arrest of the trio was followed by eight months in custody and now the trial before the regional court.
“The accusation is correct,” admitted the mechanic. He was a bunker keeper. The bunker: his garage. “I was unemployed at the time, had debts from my self-employment … But I had nothing to do with the handling of the business myself.”
According to the indictment, the drug procurer was his friend Eduard Z. And he was the one who paid the suppliers. He also admitted: “I made a terrible mistake…” He lost track of the quantities at the time. “It was so easy via Encrochat.”
Jean L. maintained contact with buyers. He is said to have had a large network that communicated through the service provider. This made it possible to trade marijuana in the double-digit kilo range in just a few days. He was also in debt at the time. Today he knows: “Despite the difficulties, I shouldn’t have resorted to illegal business.”
Now the trio hopes that confessions and remorse will soften the judges. They have promised prison sentences of between five and seven and a half years. Continued: May 2nd
