With a sentence of six years’ unconditional imprisonment for a 26-year-old man, a comprehensive case of cannabis smuggling, which the police have dubbed “Operation Houston”, was almost put to an end on Thursday.
The Police Special Unit Special Investigation West (SEV) launched “Operation Houston” in the summer of 2017.
In March 2018, in collaboration with the police in several European countries, a major action was launched. 20 people were arrested and more than a ton of hashish was seized.
However, together with another man, 26-year-old Daniel Tobias Kristensen escaped arrest. They had traveled to Spain and later continued to Morocco.
At a court hearing, they were remanded in custody in absentia. This meant that they could be wanted internationally, and in February last year they were arrested in Morocco.
From here they were to be extradited to Denmark. But the corona got in the way, and only in December could they replace the Moroccan cell with a Danish one.
On Thursday, Daniel Tobias Kristensen admitted in the Court in Horsens that he had been responsible for receiving, checking, repackaging and distributing the one and a half tonnes of cannabis that the group smuggled to Denmark.
In addition, he was responsible for collecting the money for the hash and giving it to a courier who made sure that they came to Holland and Spain.
Special prosecutor Morten Rasmussen is well satisfied after Thursday’s verdict.
– I am particularly pleased that the judicial cooperation with the Moroccan authorities has borne fruit, and that a verdict will be handed down so soon after the extradition from Morocco to Denmark, he says in a press release.
The one and a half tonnes of hashish were smuggled to Denmark in Dutch and Spanish trucks. With a street price of 50 kroner per gram, the smuggled hash has had a value of 75 million kroner.
That the organization handled millions of kroner shows a previous verdict in the case complex.
A Swedish citizen was convicted of bringing 34 million kroner from Horsens to Sweden. Here they were exchanged for euros and passed on to Spain and the Netherlands.
With Thursday’s verdict, a total of 42 people have been convicted in connection with “Operation Houston”, and the police have managed to dismantle an entire organization.
– We have got hold of all those who have operated in Denmark, says Morten Rasmussen.
Only one defendant remains in the case. He is the man who spent almost 11 months in a Moroccan prison with Daniel Tobias Kristensen.
Quelle: Die nordische Seite
