German Court Upholds Deportation of Rapper 18 Karat to Portugal Despite Family Ties

German authorities deported rapper 18 Karat, whose real name is Ivo Vieira Silva, to Portugal on Wednesday, Euronews reported. The 40-year-old Portuguese national had served about four years of a six-year-and-three-month sentence for drug offenses that included seizure of nearly 12 kilograms of cannabis. Dortmund officials confirmed the deportation to the dpa news agency.

Vieira Silva was transferred to another prison wing after a temporary release was canceled and was flown out without his mobile phone, contacting family only after landing. The city had announced plans to seek his removal in August 2025. The Administrative Court of Gelsenkirchen rejected his appeal, citing compelling reasons of public order and a concrete risk of reoffending.

The Higher Administrative Court of North Rhine-Westphalia upheld that decision at an emergency hearing on Tuesday. Vieira Silva had argued that contact with his German partner Maya, daughter Amalia, and an expected second child showed he posed no danger. He had been held under a semi-open regime and was nearing completion of vocational training as a painter and varnisher.

His lawyer, Lisa Grüter, called the immediate deportation a disgrace to the rule of law. Vieira Silva entered the German rap scene in 2015 with the album FSK 18 Brutal. Several tracks have reached 10 to 30 million Spotify streams.

He publicly revealed his identity and Portuguese nationality in 2025 while serving the sentence. His wife stated the couple planned to relocate to Portugal after his release because he could make music anywhere.