An Austrian and a Russian were arrested in Vienna after drugs and €1,535 were found inside a car.
Police in the Austrian capital, Vienna, stopped a 23-year-old Austrian man during a traffic stop after suspecting he was driving without a license. Officers also found drugs and cash inside the vehicle. The incident occurred Thursday evening during a routine traffic stop by Vienna's traffic police. According to the Austrian Press Agency (APA) , the 23-year-old Austrian man was driving, and a 20-year-old Russian citizen was a passenger.
Police explained that their officers stopped the vehicle as part of a routine check of the driver and vehicle. During the initial inspection, officers noticed that the driver did not have a valid driver's license, which prompted them to expand the search and verify his legal status.
During their conversation with the driver, police officers noticed that the young man appeared to be under the influence of drugs or other intoxicants, prompting them to request that he undergo a medical examination by a qualified physician to determine his condition. However, the young man refused to undergo the standard medical examination typically conducted in such cases.
During a subsequent search of the vehicle, police officers found a backpack inside the cabin containing suspicious items. Inside the backpack, investigators found a small quantity of white powder suspected to be a narcotic, as well as scales commonly used in drug trafficking.
Police also found €1,535 in cash inside the bag, in denominations commonly used in the drug trade, as well as two mobile phones. Police indicate that these findings led them to suspect drug-related activity.
As a result, the police temporarily detained the two men to complete the investigations. It was also revealed during the examination of the vehicle that the car itself suffered from several technical defects, which increased the violations related to the case.
Investigations are still ongoing to determine the nature of the seized materials and the full circumstances of the incident, in addition to verifying the possibility of other links related to drug crimes.