Tyske Ecolog anklaget for narkosmugling i Afghanistan

UPDATE: Ecolog AG bestrider følgende påstander / Ecolog AG denies these allegations::

Ecolog works for ISAF troops in Afghanistan A German waste management firm employed by the NATO mission in Afghanistan has been accused of involvement in drug smuggling. Allegations against Ecolog and the Macedonian family behind it date back to the war in Kosovo.

Allegations have surfaced that a German-based company contracted by NATO’s ISAF troops in Afghanistan may have been involved in smuggling drugs out of the country.

“There is a chance that drugs or other such things have been smuggled,” NATO General Egon Ramms, chief at ISAF headquarters in the Netherlands told German public broadcaster NDR.

The German general confirmed that an investigation was underway into allegations that Dusseldorf-based Ecolog used contracts with NATO or ISAF for illegal activities. The firm had been working for NATO in Afghanistan since 2003, Ramms said.

Ecolog dismissed the allegations as “absurd,” telling Deutsche Welle in an e-mail message that none of the accusations made against it were true.

“Since 2002, the company has been a reliable partner to both NATO and the German military Bundeswehr in crisis regions,” Ecolog said.

Fra Ms Sparky.

UPDATE (via Deutsche Welle):

The state court of Hamburg granted a restraining order against the state broadcaster Norddeutsche Rundfunk (NDR) on March 4, 2010.

The state court of Hamburg granted a restraining order against the state broadcaster Norddeutsche Rundfunk (NDR) on March 4, 2010. The order means that NDR is no longer allowed to «raise the suspicion that the [Ecolog company] is involved in drug dealing» or that it «is backed by members of a clan involved in organized crime.»

In a press statement, Ecolog described assertions in the NDR report as «groundless suspicions.» The NDR had speculated that the company may have abused its economic relations with the ISAF in Afghanistan for illegal trade. Deutsche Welle reproduced the NDR report in several languages.

The NDR cited an 8-year-old report from German news services as well as a later secret service report from KFOR sources. This report mentioned a Macedonian family clan named Destani, alleged to be involved in organized crime. The founder of Ecolog is also called Destani. The German four-star general Egon Ramms, commander of NATO Joint Force Command in the Dutch town of Brunssum, was also quoted. In an interview, Ramms expressed interest in investigating the allegation.

In a press statement, Ecolog executive board member Thomas Wachowitz described the accusations as «completely groundless and lacking any substance.» The NDR dismissed the company’s claims as unfounded and announced its intention to appeal against the restraining order.

Dusseldorf-based Ecolog offers logistics services in conflict zones, including laundry services, mobile homes, construction services, catering and fuel. It also maintains «independent foreign subsidiaries» in the USA, Macedonia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey and China, as well as a «liaison office» in Lebanon.