A photo released by the Europol policing agency on Nov. 28, 2022, shows members of various law enforcement agencies conducting an arrest raid in Spain as part "Operation Desert Light," which it said had brought down a cocaine "super cartel" responsible for about a third of the cocaine traffic in Europe. Europol
Brussels — Law enforcement authorities in six different countries have joined forces to take down a "super cartel" of drugs traffickers controlling about one third of the cocaine trade in Europe, the European Union crime agency said on Monday. Europol said 49 suspects have been arrested during the investigation, with the latest series of raids across Europe and the United Arab Emirates taking place between November 8-19.
The agency said police forces involved in "Operation Desert Light" targeted both the "command-and-control center and the logistical drugs trafficking infrastructure in Europe."
Over 30 tons of drugs were seized during the investigations run in Spain, France, Belgium, the Netherlands and the UAE with the support of Europol. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration also played a role in bringing down the organization, which was also involved in money laundering, Europol said.
🚨 Super cartel controlling one third of Europe’s cocaine trade is taken down
👥 49 arrests following parallel investigations in Spain, France, Belgium, the Netherlands and the UAE with the support of Europol
More➡️https://t.co/wzkpoAKAx1https://t.co/5JBHRdXwDP — Europol (@Europol) November 28, 2022
"The scale of cocaine importation into Europe under the suspects' control and command was massive," Europol said, adding that the suspects used encrypted communications to organize drugs shipments.
The Netherlands was the country where most of the arrests were made, with 14 suspects arrested in 2021. Europol said six "high-value targets" were arrested in Dubai.
A video posted on social media by Europol (above) showed members of various law enforcement agencies, including Spain's Guardia Civil and the U.S. DEA, carrying out raids, seizing property including jewellery and luxury vehicles, and taking people into custody.
Between 8-19 November, coordinated raids were carried out across Europe and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). pic.twitter.com/XHrMagzIBj — Europol (@Europol) November 28, 2022
Record amounts of cocaine are being seized in Europe. Its availability on the continent has never been higher, with extremely high purity and low prices.
More than 214 tons of cocaine were seized in the region in 2020, a 6% increase from the previous year, and experts from the European Monitoring Center for Drugs and Drug Addiction believe that amount could reach 300 tons in 2022.
radome9 on November 28th, 2022 at 15:03 UTC »
This reminds me about how the police and customs of Sweden estimated that they confiscated 20% of the illegal drugs circulated in Sweden. This was touted as evidence that Sweden's strict drug laws were working, and that the "drug free society" was within our grasp.
Then the Encrochat hack happened, and it turned out the amount of illegal drugs circulated was ten times higher than the authorities had estimated. So only about 2% of the illegal market was confiscated. Your local food market loses more than that to shoplifting.
Amazingly, this led to NO national debate about whether Sweden's drug policy was working.
data1989 on November 28th, 2022 at 13:12 UTC »
Great, more inflation
LilSpermCould on November 28th, 2022 at 12:37 UTC »
The competition's margin just went up.