Police caught the second member of a darknet drug-pushing trio from Germany hiding in Bangkok — the third member wants to give up as well

David Maas (photo) is the 26-year-old leader of a darknet drug gang who was apprehended in November of 2018. He now returns to Germany from Bangkok, Thailand to face trial. One of his accomplices, a 29-years-old man, was already sentenced to six years in prison in August of 2018, and the third member also signaled his willingness to give himself up from the United States. The judge has accepted his surrender.

The trio from Stade, Germany was running a large-scale darknet drug shipping operation between April and November of 2017. An estimated total of over 2000 parcels for €200,000 euros.

At the end of 2017, after busting the darknet platform from which they operated, investigators thought the group was dismantled. In reality, the trio had escaped abroad.

David had even tried to derail the investigators by sending a letter to his imprisoned accomplice saying he’s sorry for everything that happened. The letter was designed to indicate a provenience from either the Philippines or Indonesia. However, the Central Crime Inspection (ZKI) were not fooled at all.

Senior prosecutor Kai-Thomas Breas explained how the embassy had revoked the passport of David Maas, rendering his stay in Bangkok illegal. Soon enough, David was caught by the Thai policemen and arrested. He was sent to a Thai jail which the prosecution describes as:

“Two dozen prisoners in a kind of a cage, a hole in the cell as a toilet, neon lighting day and night.”

After INTERPOL and German officials warned the Thai police of the warrant, David was checked by the Bangkok police at the BTS Phra Khanong station on Monday, 29th of October 2018. He was found guilty of overstaying his visa by 257 days. It has been discovered that David entered the country by air on 16th of January 2018.

The Thai officers sent the detailed information to the Lüneburg investigators. The culprit was promptly picked up by the German authorities and returned to Frankfurt on Wednesday, November the 1st of 2018 at 5:50 AM.

David Maas is risking a penalty between 5 and 15 years of prison. Taking into account the fact that he’s accused as being the leader of the group, he’ll more than likely receive a higher sentence than his colleague’s term of six years. More so, David Maas is also accused of taking part in the theft of electronic devices in Germany around November of 2017.

He has been cooperating with the authorities. The trial is expected to begin in the spring of 2019.

BTS Phra Khanong station, Bangkok, Thailand