Arrested in Duisburg: the inland port and the freight corridor
Duisburg has the largest inland port in the world and is the European terminus of the rail freight corridor from China. It produces container investigations of the kind normally associated with seaports, without being anywhere near the sea.
What actually happens here
- Container and rail freight. Investigations begin with a consignment and work outward through access records, communications and movements.
- Customs, sanctions and origin. Goods arriving overland raise questions of declared origin and of compliance with restrictive measures, which are technical and heavily enforced.
- Logistics companies, with the entity prosecuted alongside individuals.
- Employment matters, including undeclared and posted workers in the warehousing sector.
- The ordinary city caseload: nightlife, theft accusations, driving.
- Steel and heavy industry, with safety and environmental proceedings.
Origin and sanctions cases are the ones that most often involve people who considered themselves entirely legitimate. They turn on documents prepared months earlier, and the defence is built from the company's own records rather than from any account of events.
The German clock, in short
The constitutional limit applies in Duisburg as everywhere: a judge by the end of the following day, then detention or the alternatives under the code. Germany has no bail as a standalone route: a deposit is one of the conditions a court can attach when suspending a detention order. The full framework is in the guide for Germany.
Frequently asked questions
I work in the port or a warehouse.
Access to a consignment is not knowledge of its contents. Terminal records, shift logs and documents are the defence material and they are overwritten.
What are origin and sanctions cases?
Technical proceedings on declared origin and on compliance with restrictive measures, decided on documents prepared months before anything happened.
Can the company be prosecuted?
Yes, alongside the individuals, and judged on its organisation rather than on their conduct.
How long before I see a judge?
By the end of the day following the arrest, which is a constitutional limit in Germany.
If this is happening now
The address and the documents that answer flight risk have to exist before the judge sees the case in Duisburg. First contact is free and covered by professional privilege, at any hour.