Sensi Seeds sales halted in Germany due to litigation

Sensi Seeds has stopped shipping seeds to Germany after a seizure of 5.800 seed orders by German customs authorities. The decision to suspend the company's activity in the German country arises as a result of a possible start of litigation between the German entities and the Dutch company. At issue is an indictment letter sent by the Dortmund public prosecutor to Sensi Seeds asking for clarification.

The well-known Dutch seed bank, based in Amsterdam, closed its online store to customers in Germany abruptly and indefinitely. At stake is the seizure of several orders containing seeds that had been sent by the company, in a total of seeds that amounted to more than one hundred thousand, according to the website. Highway420.de. This is the second relevant interruption in the European market after, at the end of 2020, the seed bank Dinafem, another large company in the seed market, was forced to suspend its services. Dinafem closed after enormous pressure from the Spanish government and due to tax disputes regarding sales of cannabis seeds.

Customs in the city of Cologne reported in early March that they had intercepted more than 70.000 cannabis seeds from the Netherlands. The seeds, sent by letter, were distributed in more than 5.800 individual parcels with private recipients across Germany. According to Jens Ahland, spokesperson for the main customs office in the city of Cologne, “an area of ​​about ten Bundesliga football fields could have been cultivated with this amount of seeds. Assuming an average yield of 100 grams per cannabis plant, the total amount would have been just under seven tonnes with a street sales value of almost €70 million.”

Remittance recipients face lawsuits

Document sent by the Dortmund prosecutor to the company Sensi Seeds BV, based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands

The same publication reports that reliable sources have ensured that a large part of the intercepted shipments were remitted by Sensi Seeds headquarters. Likewise, the public prosecutor in Dortmund sent the Dutch company a letter informing them that Sensi Seeds is accused of having commercially traded cannabis seeds with private individuals. These individuals, who allegedly acquired the seeds, are also being accused of illegally importing them into Germany.

The document sent by the public prosecutors accuses the company of dealing commercially with several individual customers, alleging that the company obtained its income through the sale of cannabis seeds, an activity that requires official permission. Selling seeds without the respective permission is considered a crime. Sensi Seeds now has the opportunity to present its defense in writing and to be accountable to the constituents of the company, as well as clarifying its economic situation.