Police and customs carried out several searches and vehicle checks in Itzehoe, Schleswig-Holstein, in an investigation into suspected illegal trade in cannabis and other narcotics.[1][2] On Friday 6 November 2026 officers stopped two cars travelling north on the A7 motorway, and the driver of the first fled on foot before customs could check him.[1][2] Police arrested a 37-year-old Yemeni man from Itzehoe about an hour later in Norderstedt and found cannabis in a quantity German law treats as not insignificant in his car.[1][2][3] The second car was checked at the Bad Bramstedt exit and held a 23-year-old Iraqi and a 29-year-old German woman, both from the Steinburg district.[1][2][3]
A search at the 23-year-old’s home address covered another vehicle, in which officers found cannabis and cocaine, again in a not insignificant quantity, together with high-quality watches and gold.[1][2][3] On Saturday 7 November 2026 the man was brought before a judge at the Itzehoe local court, who issued an arrest warrant for risk of flight on the application of the Itzehoe prosecutor’s office, and he was taken to a prison.[1][3] On Tuesday 10 November 2026 officers executed further search warrants, and at about 15:30 searched a shop in the Feldschmiede in Itzehoe with the participation of the Itzehoe principal customs office.[1] Officers seized small quantities of cannabis at the shop, and a starter pistol found nearby could not be attributed to any person.[1][3]
Further searches covered a 36-year-old German woman from Itzehoe who owns one of the vehicles involved and is herself among the suspects, and officers seized several data storage devices.[1] A 24-year-old Iraqi man from the Steinburg district who had been temporarily arrested was released once the police measures ended, for lack of grounds for detention.[1] In total the investigation is directed against five suspects, and the inquiries by the Itzehoe criminal investigation department and the Itzehoe prosecutor’s office were continuing.[1][3] Local reporting described the operation as a strike against the Itzehoe drug scene in which kilos of cannabis and cocaine were secured.[4] The search of a shisha shop in the upper Feldschmiede in Itzehoe was part of the operation.[4]
