A 34-year-old police officer and his former partner were both given partial prison sentences at the Regional Court in Wels, Austria. The officer was accused of purchasing substantial amounts of drugs on various darknet markets for himself, his ex-partner, family members, and friends, and eventually even investigating himself.
30 months in prison, 10 of them mandatory! The ex-policeman was charged with drug trafficking and abuse of authority, among other things. He faces almost a year in prison. He was sentenced on Thursday at Wels Regional Court. However, there were acquittals in other offenses. "The accusations were put into perspective overall. That's why there were partial acquittals," said Andreas Meissner, lawyer for the convicted police officer. The convicted man had largely confessed to the rest of the charges anyway.
Numerous charges
The 34-year-old allegedly ordered two kilos of amphetamine and about 200 grams of ecstasy for himself his wife and family members. He did this on the darknet between 2017 and 2023. When a shipment was delivered to his own address under a false name, the officer even investigated himself. He had also made evidence disappear. He replaced the confiscated drugs with creatine powder, a legal muscle-building agent, on the way to the detention center. One package of drugs had even been delivered to a postbox at his own office.
Treacherous chats
The chats were also full of innuendos. They were thinly veiled conversations about drugs, deliveries, and handovers. The officer had also sent personal details or even entire files to his ex partner. He also sent them to other acquaintances. The police officer had fabricated a confirmation of loss for his brother's driving license, which had been revoked for drug-related reasons, and also fabricated some coronavirus-related documents. Finally, the leaked police internals also included a nude photo of a minor.
The police officer's ex-partner was also sentenced on Thursday. She got a ten-month conditional prison sentence and must pay a fine of 7680 euros. Although the verdict from Wels is legally binding, the matter is not yet over for the suspended police officer. The disciplinary commission still has to decide what the consequences will be under employment law. However, it is already certain that the police officer will be dismissed from service.
