The law has closed in on a ‘super cartel’ of drug lords following coordinated raids carried out from November 8-19 across Europe and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The raids targeted both the command-and-control centre and the logistical drug trafficking infrastructure in Europe, with 49 suspects arrested during the course of the investigation.
The drug pins, considered 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 drug 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.
In the framework of intelligence activities under way 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 hosted multiple coordination meetings in the past two 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 with continuous intelligence development and analysis to support the field investigators. During the action, Europol facilitated 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
It’s hoped that the coordinated clampdown will send a strong message to criminals seeking sanctuary from law enforcement.
