Phoenix 24
The musician remains free in Portugal but faces arrest if he returns.
DORTMUND, GERMANY — July 2026. Portuguese rapper 18 Karat has been deported from Germany to Portugal while serving a six-year-and-three-month prison sentence for serious drug-trafficking offenses. The artist, whose legal name is Ivo Vieira Silva, was flown out early Wednesday following a final court ruling. Dortmund authorities confirmed the expulsion.
The 40-year-old had served approximately four years of his sentence, including time spent in pretrial detention after his arrest in June 2022. German authorities withdrew his right to free movement as a European Union citizen and ordered him to leave the country. Courts concluded that public-safety concerns outweighed his family ties and progress while incarcerated.
During the investigation, police seized nearly 12 kilograms of cannabis, smaller quantities of ecstasy and hashish, and two small cannabis-growing operations. Judges also cited a concrete risk of reoffending, arguing that the rapper had not demonstrated a complete break from the criminal network involved. His appeals against deportation were unsuccessful.
His lawyer criticized the timing of the removal, noting that he was under a semi-open prison regime and close to completing vocational training as a painter and varnisher. German authorities had also been preparing to assess whether the remaining portion of his sentence could be suspended. The deportation occurred before that review took place.
18 Karat will remain free in Portugal, but his sentence has not been erased. Any return to Germany would lead to his immediate arrest to serve approximately two remaining years. Known for performing behind a golden mask, he became prominent in German rap after releasing FSK 18 Brutal in 2015.
Deportation ended his imprisonment in Germany—but not the legal consequences of his conviction.