According to the Higher Regional Court (OLG) Linz, the seizure and destruction of cannabis seedlings from a hemp breeding company in Eberstalzell (Upper Austria) was illegal, but the owners have not yet been compensated.
“We were wronged enormously, but there was no recovery,” said Fred Burgholzer, owner of hemp breeding company CeBeDeX in Eberstalzell. The 56-year-old and his co-partners, Patrick Voiceder and Julia H., rented a hall in the summer of 2020 to grow legal cannabis cuttings for hemp shops. Demand was high, the company seemed profitable – so it invested. Production also got off to a good start, with up to 5,000 cuttings per week.
plants destroyed
But the joy was short-lived. On September 17, 2020, police officers suddenly showed up at the door with a search warrant from the Wels public prosecutor’s office. “The officials didn’t take the plants with them in their pots, they just cut them off and took most of our production equipment with them,” Burgholzer says angrily. The report noted that no inflorescences (which would be illegal) were found on any of the plants.
A voluntary police check, just ten days earlier, had already indicated that it could not be assumed that the plants would have to flower. Instead, the information was described as credible and convincing. “Nothing was forbidden for us,” emphasizes Burgholzer.
successful profession
The Linz Higher Regional Court later upheld the objection to the search and confiscation. According to the court, there were no conditions for the search because of the lack of a concrete and sufficiently justified initial suspicion. The order and approval were illegal. “But the Republic’s financial prosecutor refuses to pay for the damage,” said Burgholzer: “Since the destruction of our property, we have been ruined and unemployed!”
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
