Vienna police seize a tonne of cannabis in a disguised grow hall
Vienna police seized 1,044 kg of cannabis and 9,720 plants from a 3,200 sq m hall in Liesing disguised as a CBD business, and arrested 13 people. The raid on 9 September 2025 was announced in June 2026; police put the haul's value at €4.5 million.
🇦🇹 Liesing, Vienna · Austria
- Arrested
- 13
- Plants destroyed
- 9,720
- Cannabis
- 1,044 kg
- Value (official estimate)
- EUR 4,500,000
Vienna police seized about a tonne of cannabis in a 3,200 sq m hall in Liesing that had been disguised as a CBD production site, the force said on 11 June 2026.[1][2] The raid took place on 9 September 2025 and led to the arrest of 13 people.[1]
Officers found 9,720 cannabis plants, about 300 kg of harvested cannabis and about 500 kg of cannabis ready for sale, for a total of 1,044 kg with a THC content of 15 to 20 per cent.[1] They also seized €1.4 million in cash, gold bars, a Rolex watch, false identity documents and a Glock pistol.[1] Police estimated the cannabis’s value at €4.5 million.[1][2]
Most of those arrested were gardeners from Serbia and Bosnia who were in Austria without permission, police said.[1] Three Austrian nationals aged 42, 46 and 55 are accused of organising production, storage, recruitment, distribution and sales; one was arrested in Croatia and extradited to Austria in February.[1]
The operation was code-named “Psycho”, after a nickname used for one of the main suspects, and investigators had been watching the group since 2024.[1] The force described the plantation as highly professional and said the suspects had taken over the infrastructure of an earlier CBD business.[1]
Photos and video
- The cannabis plantation inside the 3,200 sq m hall in Liesing Photos: ORF Wien, archived copy
Sources
- Rund eine Tonne Cannabis sichergestellt. ORF Wien, 11 June 2026. In German. Archived copy.
- Rund eine Tonne Cannabis in Wien sichergestellt. Der Standard, 11 June 2026. In German. Archived copy.