By Anne Losensky
A Berlin club operator who became a drug dealer … District Court, room 219. Accused: Stephan R. (49). He used to be a Berlin party king: trendy bar on Arkonaplatz. Art, music and performance near the television tower. A life in the fast lane.
On November 15, 2021, he was gone. His Mercedes was wedged in by cars on Torstrasse in Mitte. Officers pulled him out of the car. The high-flyer suddenly had handcuffs on and landed in jail.
The time has not been good for him. Emaciated, stringy hair. Nothing remains of the nerdy-cool boasting. Bent over, he sits behind bulletproof glass. “I don’t want my kids to see me like that. You shouldn’t visit me in jail either.”
It is about 1.6 tons of hashish and marijuana, illegally imported from Spain to Germany between August 2019 and November 2021. It is estimated at 3.2 million euros. The evidence – overwhelming: He conducted his criminal import business with an Encrochat crypto phone. That was his undoing.
The supposedly tap-proof service was cracked by French investigators and they listened for three months. Investigations against 191 suspects are currently underway in Berlin. The Federal Court of Justice ruled that serious criminal offenses can also be sentenced in Germany. That’s why the fallen party king makes a deal: full confession, but a maximum of seven years in prison.
Stephan R. explains: “I had a completely normal life. I was fine. I had three companies. They went bankrupt, I wasn’t anything anymore. But my wife was suddenly successful with her company. I didn’t want to be the loser father for my children.
people in court
I risked everything. After separating from my wife, I was left with nothing. It wasn’t legal what I did, but… It was just hash and marijuana! My friends had no idea of my double life. Now I have to pay bitterly.”
The judge: “In a single quarter you made a million euros in sales with the drugs!” The fallen party king: “Of course you earn a lot of money, there are no taxes!” The judge: “One million euros in profit a year. Where are they?” No answer. Allegedly, the public prosecutor’s office was only able to confiscate 145,000 euros and an old Mercedes from the party maker.
Verdict: six years and seven months in prison and confiscation of 5.6 million euros. Guilty of 18 counts of dealing in narcotics. The judge: “We didn’t see remorse like that.” It was more self-pity.
