A THEME park that once welcomed millions of visitors has been left to rot for decades after a shocking drugs bust.<\/p>\n

Spreepark in Berlin has become a decaying, apocalyptic playground with a complicated history hidden behind its eerie gates.<\/p>\n

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The 75-acre site, closed in 2002, is now covered with graffiti and mostly visited by curious thrill-seekers, party-goers and musicians.<\/p>\n

Taken over in the 90s by someone most people found "eccentric", the new owner of the theme park didn't just plan to fly high on adrenaline or a candyfloss sugar rush.<\/p>\n

Shockingly, the once popular spot was forced to close under his ownership after enormous amounts of cocaine were found buried inside parts of the rides.<\/p>\n

The following year, he and his son were arrested for trying to smuggle 167kg of the drug back into Germany inside the dismantled Flying Carpet ride.<\/p>\n

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Nowadays, bordering the river Spree, the park's once iconic giant red Ferris wheel stands rusting and ignored.<\/p>\n

Carriages of abandoned seats, empty tunnels and decaying frames make up the wreckage of the once-impressive site.<\/p>\n

An enormous T-Rex lies on its side, where it has been for years. <\/p>\n

Likely once quite a captivating feature of the park, the dinosaur lies on its back with most of its teeth ripped out.<\/p>\n

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Greenery has crept in around the rusting, grubby rides and a blanket of moss covers most surfaces.<\/p>\n

An algae-covered pond even sits quietly still – with a swan-shaped boat rusting on its surface.<\/p>\n

The park's heyday came in the 1960s and 70s when, under the Communist government of East Germany, it was well taken care of and very popular.<\/p>\n

In 1991, following the fall of the Berlin Wall, an eccentric amusement park operator called Norbert Witte took it over, changing its name from Kulturpark Pl\u00e4nterwald to Spreepark.<\/p>\n

As other theme parks became more common, and the government grew less and less inclined to finance it, the number of visitors to Spreepark had plummeted.<\/p>\n

The hope was that Witte, along with his wife Pia, would breath a new lease of life into the once glorious attraction.<\/p>\n

Changing the landscape of the park, he brought in new rides and changed the scenery, added a lake, canals, an amphitheatre with daily shows and even an English village.<\/p>\n

But in a bizarre twist, Witte turned out to be involved in smuggling cocaine, and his funfair rides served as the chosen method of drug transportation between Germany and Peru.<\/p>\n

Working with his son, Marcel, the businessman would smuggle drugs between the countries by hiding them inside parts of the rides.<\/p>\n

The visitor rates had also never fully bounced back from their pre-Witte dip.<\/p>\n

Eventually a combination of the less-than-ideal numbers, and Witte's criminal activities, led to Spreepark's closure in 2002.<\/p>\n

After the park filed for bankruptcy, it was revealed that they had racked up debts of almost \u00a313million.<\/p>\n

Several of the rides were also in sore need of some repairs.<\/p>\n

The year the park closed, Witte decided to pack up his six most popular rides as part of a plan for a "new Spreepark".<\/p>\n

Baby Flight, Butterfly, Fun Express, Jet Star, Spider and Flying Carpet were stowed away into shipping containers.<\/p>\n

Instead of finding their intended owners in Lima, Peru, the rides were shipped back to Germany.<\/p>\n

And in an unfortunate twist of events for Witte, German police found 167kg of cocaine hidden inside the mast of the Flying Carpet.<\/p>\n

Witte was caught in Germany, while his son was detained in Peru.<\/p>\n

He served four years in prison, but his son remains locked up even today, serving a 20-year sentence.<\/p>\n

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Witter even reportedly chose to live in a caravan on Spreepark's grounds after his release from prison, although it is not clear whether he does any more.<\/p>\n

While the park never recovered from Witte's extra-curricular activities, it still stands eerily in East Berlin, playing host to the odd music festival, urban explorers and all manner of wildlife.<\/p>\n

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