Europol
Brussels — Law enforcement authorities in six totally different nations have joined forces to take down a “super cartel” of medicine traffickers controlling about one third of the cocaine commerce in Europe, the European Union crime company stated on Monday. Europol stated 49 suspects have been arrested throughout the investigation, with the newest sequence of raids throughout Europe and the United Arab Emirates going down between November 8-19.
The company stated police forces concerned in “Operation Desert Light” focused each the “command-and-control center and the logistical drugs trafficking infrastructure in Europe.”
Over 30 tons of medicine had been seized throughout the investigations run in Spain, France, Belgium, the Netherlands and the UAE with the assist of Europol. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration additionally performed a job in bringing down the group, which was additionally concerned in cash laundering, Europol stated.
“The scale of cocaine importation into Europe under the suspects’ control and command was massive,” Europol stated, including that the suspects used encrypted communications to prepare medication shipments.
The Netherlands was the nation the place a lot of the arrests had been made, with 14 suspects arrested in 2021. Europol stated six “high-value targets” had been arrested in Dubai.
A video posted on social media by Europol (above) confirmed members of varied legislation enforcement companies, together with Spain’s Guardia Civil and the U.S. DEA, finishing up raids, seizing property together with jewelry and luxurious automobiles, and taking folks into custody.
Record quantities of cocaine are being seized in Europe. Its availability on the continent has by no means been greater, with extraordinarily excessive purity and low costs.
More than 214 tons of cocaine had been seized within the area in 2020, a 6% improve from the earlier 12 months, and specialists from the European Monitoring Center for Drugs and Drug Addiction consider that quantity might attain 300 tons in 2022.