Between 8-19 November, coordinated raids were carried out across Europe and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), targeting both the command-and-control centre and the logistical drugs trafficking infrastructure in Europe.
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A total of 49 suspects have been arrested during the course of this investigation. The drugpins considered as high-value targets by Europol had come together to form what was known as a ‘super cartel’ which controlled around one third of the cocaine trade in Europe.
These arrests are the culmination of parallel investigations run in Spain, France, Belgium, the Netherlands and the UAE with the support of Europol into the activities of this prolific criminal network involved in large-scale drugs trafficking and money laundering.
The scale of cocaine importation into Europe under the suspects’ control and command was massive and over 30 tonnes of drugs were seized by law enforcement over the course of the investigations.
Participating law enforcement authorities:
Spain: Civil Guard (Guardia Civil)
France: National Police (Police Nationale – OFAST)
Belgium: Federal Judicial Police Brussels (Federale Gerechtelijke Politie Brussel/Police Judiciaire Fédérale de Bruxelles), Federal Judicial Police Antwerp (Federale Gerechtelijke Politie Antwerpen)
The Netherlands: National Police National Criminal Investigations Division and Police Unit Rotterdam (Nationale Politie - Dienst Landelijke Recherche en Eenheid Rotterdam)
United Arab Emirates: Ministry of Interior Dubai Police Force
United States: US Drug Enforcement Administration
Results in brief
Spain: 13 arrests + 2 High-Value Targets arrested in Dubai
France: 6 arrests + 2 High-Value Targets arrested in Dubai
Belgium: 10 arrests
The Netherlands: 14 arrests in 2021 and 2 High-Value Targets arrested in Dubai
In the framework of intelligence activities underway with its operational counterparts, Europol developed reliable intelligence concerning a drug trafficking cartel flooding Europe with cocaine. The main targets, who used encrypted communications to organise the shipments, were identified in the participating authorities.
Europol has since then hosted multiple coordination meetings in the past 2 years in order to bring together the different countries working on the same targets to establish a joint strategy to bring down the whole network. More than 10 operational meetings took place at Europol in this period.
In addition, Europol has been provided continuous intelligence development and analysis to support the field investigators. During the action, Europol facilitated the real-time coordination among all the partners involved, ensuring swift tactical decisions to adjust the strategy as required.
Eurojust provided cross-border judicial support to the French and Belgian authorities regarding seven arrests in both countries and organised four coordination meetings to prepare for these actions
This coordinated clampdown sends a strong message to criminals seeking sanctuary from law enforcement. ■
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