Nine arrests

Drugs, weapons and co. found in secret bunker

Countless weapons, a lot of drugs, cash: All seized by the police in a secret bunker!(Bild: LPD Kärnten)

What sounds like a scene from an action movie became reality in Villach: drug investigators discovered a secret bunker in the cellar of a major dealer's house. In addition to weapons, ammunition and narcotics, grenades were also seized.

The police have struck a powerful blow against the drug scene in Villach! Officers have been on the trail of several people since September 2023, and the handcuffs finally clicked at the beginning of March. The police may have broken up a drug ring.

Countless weapons, lots of drugs, cash: All seized by the police in a secret bunker!(Bild: LPD Kärnten)

"During seven house searches in the Villach area, nine suspects were arrested," the officers report. These were six men and three women aged between 29 and 53 with Austrian, Bosnian, Slovenian and Greek citizenship. And the police were more than successful:

During the searches, they seized

• 1.5 kg of herbal cannabis, 1.5 kg of cannabis, approx. 10 grams of heroin, 5 grams of cocaine, small quantities of magic mushrooms,
• Cash amounting to several thousand euros,
• as well as packaging material, narcotics scales
• but also several weapons(an AK 47, a handgun cat. "B" without serial number, 1 prohibited weapon shotgun shortened), ammunition, shotgun shells and hand grenade detonators

Secret door in the cellar led to drug bunker
But the officers were to find even more drugs. After the investigators noticed an exhaust pipe in the garden of a 39-year-old Austrian's family home, they made an unusual discovery in the man's cellar. "A secret bunker was found in the suspect's cellar, which had been professionally built back in 2011," they explained. The bunker was only accessible through a wooden wall that served as a "secret door". Incidentally, this door could only be opened with the help of a magnet.

Big catch for the investigators in Villach!(Bild: LPD Kärnten)

The drug ring was well equipped!(Bild: LPD Kärnten)

"Behind this door was a room measuring around 25 square meters. In it, the detectives seized a highly professional cultivation facility for cannabis plants." The room also appeared to have been a kind of storage area for weapons, ammunition and hand grenade detonators. The police have a suspicion: "According to the current state of the investigation, it can be assumed that this room was built over ten years ago specifically for the purpose of growing cannabis." 

"Highly professional equipment"
It is still unclear how many drugs were produced there. At the time of the search, however, the officers seized 39 cannabis plants in an indoor tent measuring around 3x3 meters as well as 80 jam jars filled with cannabis. Everything was highly professional: "The room has a water and electricity connection and was equipped with highly professional equipment."

Since then, the investigators have questioned all of the suspects - some of whom confessed - and four of them ended up in Klagenfurt prison. The rest are still at large.