subway station and, despite witnesses, several men attacked a 31-year-old man in April. The group hit the Algerian with a machete; the man bled to death. Relatively soon, it was heard in law enforcement circles that it could be a dispute in the drug trafficking scene in North Africa.
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The case made tragically clear to the general public just how brutal drug trafficking is in Vienna. For investigators, the attack was shocking but not surprising. You have been observing a change in the drug trade for some time now. Specifically since 2015: “During the refugee crisis, many North Africans came to Austria to engage in drug trafficking. You have a network. In the meantime, they are not only very professional, but also extremely brutal,” explained Chief Inspector Martin Bencza on Wednesday during a background discussion.
Own research team
The police reacted and founded the working group (AG) “Maghreb” already in 2016, which focuses on perpetrators from Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia. This step may have been the right one, because Algerians in particular are now among the nationalities that set the tone for Viennese drug trafficking. To do this, they work closely with Balkan gangs that are at least as well organized as they are unscrupulous.
According to the police, the North Africans are rising. “They used to work as street dealers, today they have Afghans, Syrians or Iraqis for that”, says the group’s leader, Gernot Kaes, describing the hierarchy. Nigerians, on the other hand, were largely displaced.
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“Drugs are brought into Austria in hundreds of kilograms from North Africa, Italy or Spain. Either by car or by train”, explains the experienced criminalist. This can be seen in arrests: Maghreb AG, made up of nine police officers, has seized around 450 kilograms of marijuana, 50 kilograms of heroin and 4.5 kilograms of cocaine since it was founded. There were also over 1,000 arrests.
The latter in particular is a touchy subject: “As a police officer, we are enemy number one. Criminal groups are almost always armed. We no longer do house searches without Cobra or WEGA support,” says Kaes.
A detective who wishes to remain anonymous for investigative tactics reasons adds that the violence is not just against the police. “Several acts of violence within the community in recent months can be attributed to these groups.”
According to her, cutting, stabbing and firearms are part of the basic equipment. Some of the attacks would be filmed to intimidate others with the videos. The brutal machete attack could also have served this purpose. The suspects in the case are still on the run. They are said to have fled to France or North Africa.