BERLIN, Oct. 21 (Xinhua) -- Police in the German capital Berlin observed an increasing number of drug dealing with so-called cocaine taxis, the Berlin-Brandenburg radio station (RBB) cited police information as reporting on Monday.
According to the report, Berlin's police had initiated 35 preliminary proceedings against such drug taxis between May and October.
The drug deliveries were managed from call centers and then delivered to the consumers mostly within 15 to 30 minutes, RBB reported.
"We cannot even keep an eye on the number of services," Olaf Schremm, head of the department for drug and drug crime at the state criminal investigation office (LKA), told RBB. However, investigations would show that such drug hotlines received a three-digit number of calls every day.
Cocaine residues found in Berlin's water have almost doubled between 2014 and 2018, according to the European Monitoring Center for Drugs and Drug Addiction. Residues of other drugs such as ecstasy, speed and crystal meth also increased.
However, Schremm also stressed the success of investigations. More than 850 suspects were convicted of violating the narcotics law for cocaine alone last year.
According to police figures reported by RBB, more people have died from cocaine abuse than from taking heroin and the numbers were rising. Twenty-one people had died after consuming cocaine in Berlin in 2016, and 35 in 2018.
