Image courtesy Europol
Coordinated raids were carried out this month across Europe and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) against a criminal “super cartel” involved in large-scale drug trafficking and money laundering in Europe.
A total of 49 suspects were arrested during the course of the investigation taking place in Spain, France, Belgium, the Netherlands and the UAE, according to Europol. Over 30 tonnes of drugs have been seized by law enforcement to date.
“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,” Europol said in a statement.
The Dutch public prosecution service said the drug trafficking was taking place mainly from South America via the ports of Antwerp and Rotterdam.
The raids follow the unrelated arrest of a former heavyweight boxer in the U.S. who stands accused of trafficking over 20 tons of cocaine on containerships linked to the world’s largest container shipping company.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, defendant Goran Gogic of Montenegro coordinated with cocaine suppliers in Colombia, other crewmembers on the ships, and a network of port workers who transported and offloaded the cocaine in Europe via the United States.
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