6 men on trial in Marburg over Biedenkopf and Rastenberg cannabis plantations
Six men aged 23–28 stand trial at the Marburg regional court for running two indoor cannabis plantations – seven room plantations in Rastenberg, Thuringia, and four in Biedenkopf, Hesse – that yielded 1,046 plants and 16 kg of dried cannabis. Police and the accused testified on the second hearing day, 13 November 2026.
Six men aged 23–28 stand trial at the first chamber of the Marburg regional
court, accused of gang-style cannabis trafficking from two indoor plantations;
on the second hearing day, 13 November 2026, police officers testified about the
investigation.[1]
The prosecution alleges the men ran seven room plantations in an abandoned
building in Rastenberg, Thuringia, where 219 harvest-ready plants, 249
mid-growth plants and 336 seedlings were found, and four room plantations in a
building in Biedenkopf’s old town, where 117 harvest-ready plants and 125
seedlings were seized.[2]Police found 16 kg of packaged cannabis buds and
€23,700 in cash (€7,700 and €16,000) at the residences of two of the men who had
bought the buildings.[2]
All six defendants have been in pre-trial detention since January 2026, when the
plantations were raided.[2]Two of the accused, through their lawyers,
admitted they had scouted and prepared the buildings for cultivation but said
they did not know how many plants were ultimately grown or of any specific
trafficking arrangements.[2]The trial is presided over by judge Wieland
Stötzel, who gave the defendants the word after public prosecutor Christopher
Riedel read out the charges.[2]
Case data
Every number and detail the sources state, with the sources that state it.
Charged
6
Plants destroyed
1,046
Cannabis
16 kg
Agency
Landgericht Marburg
Cannabis
Herbal cannabis (16 kg, 1,046 plants)
Activity
Trafficking
Setting
Other building
Grown
Indoor
Charge
gang-style cannabis trafficking (bandenmäßiger Handel mit Cannabis)
The January 2026 raid press release gives 'knapp 400' plants and 'rund 17 kg', while the trial prosecution gives 1,046 plants and 16 kg; the discrepancy is unresolved.
The first-day trial article says the next hearing was scheduled for 10 November, but the submitted article reports the second hearing day as 13 November; the exact hearing schedule is unclear.
No verdict or sentence has been reported yet.
Left out agency types, as its quotation was not found in Mittelhessen.
Police in Oberhausen discovered a large cannabis plantation spread over two floors after a traffic check on the motorway led them to it. The two-day operation ended with the growers still at large and no plant count, weight or arrest figure published.
A Passau police foot patrol found three people aged 29, 21 and 31 smoking a joint in the Klostergarten on 8 November 2026 and recorded an administrative offence report, because the square is a no-consumption zone. Officers also issued the three with an order to leave the area.
A 41-year-old man from Blankenburg is to stand trial at the Landgericht Magdeburg from 12 November 2026 for armed drug trafficking, accused of selling amphetamine, methamphetamine and cannabis in autumn 2023. The court says he kept knives within reach in his flat to protect the trade, so the trial must decide whether the knives counted as weapons.
Baden-Württemberg's justice system auctioned 22 items seized in criminal cases, including Porsches and motorcycles from proceedings in which owners were convicted of trafficking marijuana and cocaine. The Stuttgart sale raised €2.1 million, above the justice minister's expectation, with proceeds going to the treasury or held back if an owner is acquitted.
