Operation "Alpenrose" Zurich landlord's restaurant fails - and ends up in court as a drug lord
The Zurich public prosecutor's office broke up the "Alpenrose" drug network in 2023. The main offender received twelve years in prison, his accomplice eight years. A drug-addicted courier received therapy instead of prison.
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- At the beginning of November, a gang of drug dealers had to answer to the Zurich District Court.
- Now the verdict: several years in prison.
- The gang smuggled over 15 kilograms of cocaine into Switzerland between 2018 and 2023.
After almost a year of surveillance and intensive investigations, the Zurich public prosecutor's office struck in June 2023 - the undercover operation "Alpenrose" was directed against an internationally active drug trafficking network.
At the beginning of November, the alleged main perpetrator, a 55-year-old Swiss national, and two co-defendants went on trial at Zurich District Court.
The verdict was handed down on Wednesday: the leader of the gang was sentenced to twelve years' imprisonment, while his 54-year-old Italian accomplice and right-hand man received eight years' imprisonment and will also be deported from Switzerland for five years. The third defendant, a 63-year-old drug-addicted courier, received three and a half years in prison, the execution of which will be postponed in favor of outpatient drug treatment, as reported by "20 Minuten".
Drugs were wrapped in finger cots and swallowed
The investigation revealed that the group smuggled over 15 kilograms of high-quality cocaine from the Dominican Republic and Brazil to Switzerland between 2018 and 2023. Four couriers carried out a total of 23 flights and transported the drugs in their bodies - packed in finger cots. They received several thousand euros for each operation. The drug-addicted courier was allowed to keep some of the goods for his own consumption.
In addition, the network allegedly sold 4.5 kilograms of cocaine to a wholesaler in the canton of St. Gallen in 2023 and bought 500 grams in Zurich. In addition, around CHF 100,000 went to suppliers in the Dominican Republic - presumably for money laundering purposes.
Main accused had restaurant in district 4
The main accused did not make any statements during the trial and did not confess to the crimes. He merely explained that he had "returned to his old ways" after the bankruptcy of his restaurant in Zurich's Kreis 4 district during the pandemic, wrote 20 Minuten.
The court saw him as the central figure in the organization that pulled the strings. His Italian accomplice had supported and represented him. The court largely followed the prosecution's demands when it came to the sentence. The drug-addicted courier was allowed to continue his therapy in freedom - imprisonment would have been counterproductive according to the court.