crime
Denmark: Tougher drug penalties in Christiania
In recent years, criminal gangs have increasingly taken control of the drug business on Pusher Street. photo
© -/dpa
The autonomous free city of Christiania in Copenhagen is known for drug trafficking and possession. Now the police are increasingly taking action against it.
Drug buyers and sellers will have to expect significantly tougher penalties in the future on Copenhagen’s notorious Pusher Street. In the fight against the organized hashish trade, the Police in the Danish capital have set up a so-called stricter penalty zone in and around the alternative settlement of Christiania, where the drug mile is located.
The zone will initially apply for six months from Wednesday afternoon to July 10th, as the Copenhagen police announced. The aim is to prevent crime and ensure the safety of residents.
Penalties are becoming more expensive
“With the tightened penalty zone, we are taking another step towards a permanent closure of the hashish trade in Christiania,” explained police director Anne Tønnes. The regulation, which is based on a change in the law at the turn of the year, means, among other things, that buyers of illegal drugs can be punished with prison for the second offense in the penalty zone. Anyone caught for the first time will face a fine of 4,000 crowns (540 euros) for even small amounts of hashish – that’s twice as much as before.
The autonomous free city of Christiania is over 50 years old and, with its alternative flair, is one of Copenhagen’s tourist magnets. In recent years, however, criminal gangs have increasingly taken control of the drug business on Pusher Street, where hashish is sold more or less visibly. This was repeatedly accompanied by deadly acts of violence.
Since last summer, the residents of the settlement have been striving to have the drug alley closed. Justice Minister Peter Hummelgaard had already announced tougher penalties for drug trafficking and possession around Pusher Street in September.