Europol police have dismantled a major European drug cartel. During the investigation, 49 suspects were arrested. According to the Attorney General’s Office (OM), two main Dutch suspects have been arrested. They would have played an important role in the European drug trade.
These are coordinated raids between 9 and 18 November in Europe and in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The disbanded super cartel controlled much of the cocaine trade in Europe. During the investigation, the police seized more than 30,000 kilograms of drugs.
A total of 49 suspects were arrested, including 16 Dutch nationals. Fourteen of them have already been arrested in 2021. Two of them are prime suspects. This is a 37-year-old man with Dutch and Moroccan identity. The Rotterdam Public Prosecutor is prosecuting him for importing thousands of kilos of cocaine in 2020 and 2021, participating in a criminal organization, laundering large sums of money, bribery and possession of firearms.
The other suspect is a 40-year-old Dutch man who lives in Bosnia and Herzegovina. He is suspected of having imported large shipments of cocaine and almost 8,000 kilos of raw materials for the production of amphetamines. The raw materials for drug production arrived from the port of Antwerp and had a company in the Netherlands as their final destination.
The investigation into the suspects started with the messages decrypted by Sky cryptophones. Both men were arrested in Dubai. The Netherlands has requested the extradition of the two suspects.
The action also involved the police and judicial services of Spain, France, Belgium, the United Arab Emirates and the United States.
