Eight people suspected of operating a drug ring out of the German city of Düsseldorf have been detained. The gang is accused of smuggling cocaine and meth around the world into Australia, Japan, North America.
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Authorities in the western German state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) announced on Friday that they'd broken up an international drug ring responsible for smuggling kilos of drugs into foreign countries.
Police said they detained eight people who are believed to have founded the gang in 2016, which primarily operated in and around the state capital Düsseldorf.
They are also investigating another 40 people who were allegedly members or supported the drug ring.
NRW state criminal police said a majority of the suspects were Iranian.
During raids that were carried out in mid-March, authorities secured a total 71 kilograms (156 pounds) of hard drugs as well as over €400,00 ($483,000) in cash.
The gang hired runners to smuggle cocaine, methamphetamine and opium into several countries around the world, including the United States, Canada, Japan and Australia.
The group also allegedly laundered the money received from their drug smuggling to hide their activities.
German investigators praised the "effective and rapid cross-border cooperation of numerous law enforcement agencies" who helped investigate the case.
Police and customs officials in Japan, the Australian federal police, the US Drug Enforcement Administration (USDA), the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Dutch police were also involved.
Six of the group's drug smugglers are currently serving jail terms in Australia and Japan for importing cocaine and meth.
The group's male and female recruits, aged 22 to 49, were stopped at airports for trying to smuggle drugs in special compartments in their suitcases. According to police, the group also smuggled drugs in the mail.
The group also smuggled drugs through the mail, including one instance where Australian authorities uncovered 50 kilograms of cocaine that was hidden in an industrial oven.
Don't blame the chemists: some of the world's most dangerous substances come from nature itself. Many flowers, seeds and leaves are full of intoxicants and potentially deadly drugs. Hands off!
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Cannabis - smoke it or wear it
The cannabis plant contains the psychoactive substance tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). It makes people feel euphoric and relaxed and can also alleviate pain. The flowers of infertilized female plants contain particularly high amounts of THC, that's why they are taken for producing marihuana. Some cannabis species do not contain any THC at all and are grown for fiber production.
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Better than aspirin
Opium poppy (Papaver somniferum) produces - you guessed it - opium. To harvest it, you simply incise the capsules and let the white latex exude and dry. Opium contains high amounts of morphine, the strongest existing pain medication. A chemical variation of morphine provides the semi-synthetic drug heroin.
Image: picture alliance/dpa/D.Ramik
Fancy a magic mushroom?
Mushrooms are chemical artists - some of them even produce psychoactive substances. Among them: this grey-coloured Pluteus salicinus. It grows on wood and contains psilocybin, which causes visual and mental hallucinations similar to LSD. Side effects are nausea and panic attacks.
Image: picture alliance/dpa/Wildlife
Drug snack to go
Leaves of the coca plant harbour chemical compounds similar to cocaine. They alleviate pain and act as stimulants. In many countries in Latin America, chewing on raw coca leaves is quite common. It helps tourists deal better with altitude sickness, too. By fermenting and drying the leaves and processing them chemically, cocaine is produced.
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Beautiful poisonous flowers
Angel's trumpets are beautiful to look at but you should refrain from tasting them. All parts of the plant contain alkaloids - chemical compounds with strong effects on the human body. When you eat or smoke the plant, your heart rate will increase and you will start to hallucinate. As with all natural drugs, finding the right dosage is difficult. Deadly accidents occur quite often.
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Bummer with thornapple
On the internet, poisonous Datura plants - also known as thornapples - are advertised as natural drugs as well. Really not a good idea: The plant induces strong hallucinations, sometimes with a complete loss of reality. People tend to hurt themselves severely under its influence.
Image: picture-alliance/blickwinkel/R. Koenig
Hawaiian Babies
Argyreia nervosa is native to Asia, even though the plant is called Hawaiian baby woodrose. The seeds of this climbing vine contain ergine, a compound similar to LSD. It causes colourful visions and euphoria but also nausea, prickling and psychoses. Overdosing can happen easily as one seed alone already has a strong effect.
Image: picture-alliance/blickwinkel/R. Koenig
Ecstasy with cactus
The peyote cactus in Mexico and Texas is full of mescaline, a hallucinogenic compound that is illegal under the international Convention on Psychotropic Substances. Mescaline alters thinking processes and one's sense of time and self-awareness. The cactus is cut into pieces and eaten or boiled into a tea. The cactus species is now listed on the Red List as vulnerable.
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Beware of nutmeg
Nutmeg in high amounts can act as a drug, since it contains the hallucinogenic compound myristicin. But don't worry: you'll never reach the necessary dosage if you only use nutmeg as a spice. Getting high on nutmeg seems a bad idea anyway, as side effects include headaches, nausea and diarrhea.
Image: picture alliance/CTK/R. Pavel
Psychedelic leaves?
Yes, it's true: the evergreen kratom tree (Mitragyna speciosa), native to Southeast Asia, incorporates the opioid-like compound mitragynine into its leaves. In traditional medicine, the leaves are chewed to relieve pain, increase appetite and treat diarrhea. But they can also be used to mix drug cocktails.
The tobacco plant produces poisonous and addictive chemicals, such as nicotine and other alkaloids, and harbours them inside its leaves. With this poisonous cocktail, the plant tries to ward off animals that might want to eat it. When the leaves are dried and smoked, the chemicals enter the human body - together with many cancerous substances generated by burning tabacco.