Arrest warrants in Cologne: BtMG convict detained

Over the past weekend, the Federal Police in North Rhine-Westphalia executed three arrest warrants. The operations took place in Cologne and Bonn and were triggered during routine identity checks at the respective main train stations. When verifying personal details, officers found that the men were wanted by various public prosecutor's offices for the enforcement of sentences. Since none of those involved could pay the fines imposed on them, all three had to serve substitute custodial sentences and were transferred to correctional facilities or police custody. The Federal Police Directorate Sankt Augustin announced the operations on Monday in a press release.

Arrest warrant for narcotics act violation in Cologne

The enforcement action began on Friday, 14 August, with a 41-year-old German national at Cologne Central Station. Federal police officers checked the man in the B passage and found after establishing his identity that an outstanding arrest warrant existed against him for a violation of the Narcotics Act. The convicted individual was unable to pay the fine of 3,990 euros imposed on him. Instead, he had to serve a substitute custodial sentence of 130 days. The officers immediately transferred him to Cologne-Ossendorf Correctional Facility, where the sentence is to be served.

Violations of the Narcotics Act are among the most common criminal offences in the field of drug crime in Germany. The law governs the handling of illegal substances and provides for fines or custodial sentences depending on the severity of the offence. Whether the underlying proceedings involved possession, acquisition or supply of narcotics is not stated in the police report. What is clear, however, is that the court had imposed a substantial fine on the man, and failure to pay it led to his imprisonment. The enforcement took place as part of the Federal Police's daily control activities at one of the state's busiest transport hubs.

Role of the Federal Police at train stations

Cologne Central Station is one of the largest and busiest train stations in Germany. Hundreds of thousands of travellers pass through its platforms and concourses every day. The Federal Police are permanently present there and carry out targeted identity checks in addition to border police surveillance. Such measures serve not only to uncover offences in rail traffic but also to enforce outstanding arrest warrants. The case of the 41-year-old shows that wanted-person hits can be achieved even during seemingly everyday checks.

Further arrest warrants at Cologne Central Station

In the early hours of Sunday, Federal Police officers continued their checks at Cologne Central Station. A 24-year-old Syrian national came to their attention, against whom an arrest warrant for sentence enforcement was also outstanding. In this case, the offence involved theft. The man was unable to pay the fine of 2,360 euros imposed on him and was therefore transferred to Cologne-Ossendorf Correctional Facility to serve a 59-day substitute custodial sentence. This case also illustrates how routine station checks by the Federal Police help to detect outstanding arrest warrants and ensure the enforcement of sentences.

With two enforcements within a few hours at the same location, the Federal Police underscores the effectiveness of its presence at central transport facilities. Both men from Cologne were taken to the same correctional facility, which is responsible for housing inmates from the greater Cologne area. The close timing of the two cases suggests that checks were intensified over the weekend.

Enforcement at Bonn Central Station

Shortly after the second operation in Cologne, Federal Police officers achieved another wanted-person hit at Bonn Central Station. A 43-year-old Hungarian national was wanted for obtaining services by deception. He too was unable to pay the fine of 150 euros. The Federal Police then handed him over to the police custody service of Bonn Police Headquarters to serve the five-day substitute custodial sentence. Within a single weekend, a total of three arrest warrants were successfully executed at two locations in North Rhine-Westphalia.

Bonn Central Station, as an important hub in regional and long-distance rail traffic, is also a focal point of railway police work. Unlike the two Cologne cases, the Hungarian national was not transferred to a correctional facility but to police custody. This is common for shorter substitute custodial sentences when the detention period does not reach the threshold for placement in a prison.

Substitute custodial sentences and legal background

The institution of substitute custodial sentences applies in Germany when a convicted person fails to pay a fine imposed on them despite being able to do so. In such cases, the fine is converted into a prison sentence, the length of which is determined by a fixed conversion formula. The three cases from the past weekend show the range of such enforcement measures: from five days to 130 days in custody.

• 41-year-old German: 130 days for Narcotics Act violation, fine 3,990 euros
• 24-year-old Syrian: 59 days for theft, fine 2,360 euros
• 43-year-old Hungarian: 5 days for obtaining services by deception, fine 150 euros

The Federal Police are regularly present at major stations such as Cologne and Bonn conducting identity checks. Among other aims, they seek to achieve wanted-person hits and ensure public safety at transport facilities. The fact that routine checks also uncover arrest warrants from the field of narcotics crime underscores the importance of border and railway police work for sentence enforcement. Enquiries about the operations should be directed to the press office of the Federal Police Inspectorate Cologne, headed by Stephanie Reuver.