March 3, 2026, 3:53 p.mMarch 3, 2026, 3:53 p.m
Each of the dwarves contained around five kilograms of the popular party drug.Image: wdr/oliver köhler
Customs at Cologne/Bonn Airport in Germany discovered around 25 kilograms of the drug ketamine – hidden in five golden garden gnomes. According to customs, the drugs had a sales value of around one million euros (around 908,000 francs).
The garden gnomes in four parcel shipments were checked at Cologne/Bonn airport almost a month ago on their way from southern Germany to Canada and Australia. “The first abnormalities were already visible on the X-ray images,” said a customs spokesman. “Significant changes in the feet” then led the colleagues to the criminal stuffing of the dwarves.
Customs is finding more and more ketamine
According to customs authorities, ketamine is half as expensive as cocaine on the black market and is therefore increasingly being used as a party drug. In contrast to other drugs, ketamine is often smuggled from Europe to overseas and not the other way around. Last year, 1.3 tons of ketamine worth 54 million euros were discovered by Cologne customs alone.
Just a week ago, Cologne customs found 33 kilos of ketamine in the luggage of the passenger (36) in a Dutch taxi on the A3 near Siegburg. The 30 vacuum bags were wrapped in wrapping paper as camouflage. (sda/dpa)