Former Reemtsma kidnapper Thomas Drach has been charged with four robberies of money transporters. The Cologne district court has prepared for one of the most spectacular trials of the year.
Cologne – The trial against Thomas Drach begins on Tuesday (9.15 a.m.) in front of the Cologne district court under strict security precautions. The former Reemtsma kidnapper is said to have committed four robberies on money transporters.
He is charged with, among other things, attempted murder, particularly aggravated robbery and arson. The public prosecutor’s office has applied for preventive detention for the 61-year-old, who has already been sentenced several times.
In 1996, Drach kidnapped the heir to the Hamburg Reemtsma tobacco dynasty, Jan Philipp Reemtsma, and released him 33 days later – for a ransom of 15 million German marks and 12.5 million Swiss francs. He was sentenced to fourteen and a half years in prison for the crime.
In the four robberies on money transporters in 2018 and 2019 in Cologne, Frankfurt am Main and Limburg, Drach and a co-defendant are said to have stolen a total of more than 230,000 euros. In two of the crimes, Drach is said to have shot a security guard – both men suffered serious injuries.
Drach denies the allegations and, according to his defense attorney, is seeking an acquittal. Lawyer Andreas Kerkhof said there was no solid evidence against his client. “The indictments are all based on patchy evidence and pure speculation.”
High security precautions apply to the process in the Cologne district court on all days. According to a spokesman, there will be complex access controls for visitors to the court. There will be temporary road closures around the Justice Center.
For the process, 53 hearings are planned until the end of September. dpa
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