Three suspected drug smugglers have been arrested at Frankfurt Airport in a case linked to a wider cocaine trafficking investigation led by the Wiesbaden public prosecutor’s office, the Hessian state criminal police and Frankfurt customs investigators. The men, aged 17, 25 and 38, are accused of trying to bring 22 kilograms of cocaine into the airport on 1 October, and a magistrate ordered pre-trial detention for all three.
Investigators believe the group was part of a larger network suspected of importing and trafficking at least 590 kilograms of cocaine. The undercover inquiry has been running since July 2026, with authorities already detaining a courier in late August in connection with 130 kilograms of cocaine.
Special units were deployed during the operation at the airport alongside customs and state police officers. The arrests highlight the scale of the case for border-control and cargo and passenger screening at one of Europe’s busiest air hubs.