Water damage reveals drug ring: 120 plants discovered in Hietzing!

Water damage reveals drug ring: 120 plants discovered in Hietzing!

in Vienna, more precisely in the 13th district of Hietzing, a considerable find was made in a harmless water damage: in an apartment, the police officers of the Lainzer Straße inspection discovered a cannabis plantation with 120 plants and more than 5.800 grams of packed cannabis herb. This surprising discovery resulted in a great investigation, which was led by the Vienna State Criminal Police Office, south. According to [police.news] (https://polizei.news/2025/07/wien-zufaelliger-fund-von-cannabisplante- through-water damage-zwei-maenner-in-thang/), three Italian citizens were identified as a suspect-a 25-year-old and two brothers between the ages of 29 and 31. All three men could be arrested on the same day in an apartment in the neighboring 14th district of Penzing.

The further investigation led to a second apartment in the 12th district of Meidling, where a strikingly high power consumption was registered. During the search, the officers found another 64 cannabis plants and about one kilogram of additional herbs. Overall, the seeds seized amounts to 6.915.3 grams of cannabis and 168 plants, and the police also found cash of EUR 3.140. The 31-year-old suspect indicated that he has been selling cannabis in larger quantities for years and maintaining rearing companies in various apartments. The 25-year-old confessed to the plantation in Hietzing, while the 29-year-old played any participation. At the order of the Vienna public prosecutor's office, the two confessed men were transferred to a prison, during the third man was shown at large.

large -scale drug investigations

The case in Vienna lends itself into a series of investigations against organized drug crime, especially from the Western Balkans. According to information from the Federal Criminal Police Office, a Serbian group of perpetrators, the large -scale cannabis cultivation and sale, was smashed. This group was strong and operated professional plantations not only in Vienna, but also in Lower Austria and Upper Austria. The investigation was based on the evaluation of encrypted chat messages and led to numerous arrests.

In 2023, the police in Austria ensured a total of 2.66 tons of cannabis, which represents an increase compared to the previous year. The police secured the amount of cocaine with 154 kilograms. A total of 35.445 advertisements were registered according to the Sugstantant Act and there were 2.351 arrests. On this occasion, Daniel Lichtenegger, the head of the Office for Addictive Crime, emphasized the importance of research and the challenges that organized drug crime brings from the Western Balkans. This region is considered a hotspot for such activities.

The developments related to cannabis plantations and the arrested suspects show that probably not only random discoveries are necessary to cope with this problem, but also more intensive investigative work and international collaborations to decrypt and combat the structures of organized crime.