Huge repression in the fight against drug trafficking. Police have broken up a drug “super cartel” that controlled around a third of Europe’s cocaine trade, arresting 49 suspects in several countries, including six major ones in Dubai, Europol announced Monday.
This international operation resulted in the seizure of 30 tons of cocaine, with arrests in France, Spain, Belgium and the Netherlands, the European Police Office, based in the Netherlands, added in a statement.
“Drug lords, considered high interest targets by Europol, had come together to form what is known as a supercartel that controlled around a third of the cocaine trade in Europe,” according to Europol.
“The scale of the importation of cocaine into Europe under the control and command of the suspects was massive. And the forces of order seized more than 30 tons of drugs during the investigations”, specifies the European agency.
Dubai has arrested two “high interest” suspects linked to the Netherlands, another two linked to Spain and two linked to France.
“One of the Dutch suspects is an ‘extremely large fish,'” a Europol source told AFP on condition of anonymity.
Request for extradition in Dubai
In addition to the six arrests in Dubai, thirteen people were arrested in Spain, six in France and ten in Belgium. At the same time, fourteen people were arrested in 2021 in the Netherlands as part of the same operation, according to this source.
The Dutch prosecutor’s office has indicated that it intends to ask the United Arab Emirates for the extradition of the two suspects linked to the Netherlands detained in Dubai.
One is a 37-year-old man with dual Dutch and Moroccan nationality, accused of importing thousands of kilograms of cocaine into the Netherlands in 2020 and 2021. The other is a 40-year-old man with dual Dutch and Bosnian nationality. according to the accusation.
“These are serious crimes related to international drug trafficking, mainly from South America through the ports of Antwerp and Rotterdam,” according to a press release from the Dutch prosecutor’s office.
Source: BFM TV
