Trouble in the Cologne trial against the former Reemtsma kidnapper Thomas Drach: According to the presiding judge, the police “forgot” to transport Drach from prison to the trial in the district court on Wednesday morning. “You see, the carnival isn’t quite over yet,” Judge Jörg Michael Bern commented laconically on the mishap.
A short-term collection of Drachs to the court is not possible because the police “do not have enough strength,” said Bern. The reason for this is a parallel trial against a suspected member of the jewel thief gang “Pink Panther”, for which increased security measures also apply. A large contingent of police officers secures the courthouse at both trials.
The 55th day of the hearing against Drach on Wednesday should not start until 2 p.m. because of the breakdown, said Bern. He had agreed with the presiding judge in the “Pink Panther” trial that there would only be hearings until 1 p.m. and that the accused would then be transported back to the prison. Then, in return, the officials should bring Drach to the court. The 62-year-old is usually flown to court by helicopter.
In the process, Drach is charged with four robberies on value transporters in Cologne, Frankfurt am Main and in Limburg in Hesse. In addition, the public prosecutor’s office accuses him of attempted murder, as he is said to have shot money messengers in two raids and seriously injured them. With him in the dock is a suspected accomplice from the Netherlands. Drach became known in 1996 with the kidnapping of the tobacco company heir Jan Philipp Reemtsma. The 62-year-old was sentenced to fourteen and a half years in prison for the crime.
