It was a long sitting for those present in the Weiden court on Thursday. Arnhemmer G. talked for hours about his life, almost turning it into a show trial. He stated that he was the owner of a bar and club, a festival organizer, a heavy cannabis user, a ‘middleman’ in drug trafficking, and regularly traveled back and forth between the Netherlands, Bali, Thailand, Cannes and Ibiza.
He describes himself as a ‘party animal’. “We all use drugs sometimes,” he said. “I buy it too.” But sell? No, G didn’t. He merely ‘mediated’ in trade. “I come from a kind of hippie family.”
German trial against Dutchman (46) who poisoned eight people with ecstasy in champagne bottle, man in his fifties died
His lawyer emphasized that his client has access to party drugs because of his work – “as do tens of thousands of others,” he added – but that did not make him an “international logistics specialist in synthetic drugs.”
The tall, slim Dutchman, with wavy hair, gold-rimmed glasses and a black hooded jacket, was joined in the room by family and friends from the Netherlands. His sister cried, write German media such as Oberpfalz Echo, and another family member encouraged him with a thumbs up.
The case revolves around a bottle that appeared to contain champagne, but actually contained liquid MDMA. This was an amount that was fatal to guest Harald Z. (52) in the La Vita restaurant in Weiden in 2022. Eight guests were also poisoned but survived. They suffered from palpitations, nausea, fainting, and severe seizures.
G. has been in custody for more than a year. The Dutchman’s lawyer denies involvement of his flamboyant client. “There is no fingerprint. No DNA material. No communication. No transfer.”
Evidence and witnesses
The Public Prosecution Service sees it differently. There is evidence and there are witnesses, the justice department says. The connection between the bottle and Theo G can therefore be demonstrated, according to the Public Prosecution Service. The question was: how did it get there?
The theory that emerged: a box of bottles containing the poison champagne had been stolen, after which the thief had sold it as regular champagne. The Arnhemmer acknowledged that he rented a storage space in his hometown, where he kept the bottles. His lawyer believes that for this reason his client should not be in court in Germany, but in the Netherlands.
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G. has a criminal record in our country. For example, he was convicted of cannabis cultivation in 2022. But he is by no means rich, he emphasized. He received some questions about this from prosecutor May, who wanted to know what he earned.
“Not much at the time,” said Theo G. “Between 3,000 and 5,000 euros.” Sometimes he earned 5,000 euros in one go and immediately went on holiday. Sometimes he didn’t know how to pay for gas. May asked about the Porsche Panamera and holidays in exclusive Ibiza: “How did you finance that?” Theo G. says that the Porsche cost 51,000 euros, including winter tires.
He also says he has suffered substantial losses. Even once for €50,000, he gave as an example. His home had been broken into and robbed of cash and Breitling watches.
The case will continue on December 12.