Dozens arrested in action against cocaine network Europe | Inland

The operation targeted “one of Europe’s most active Albanian-language cocaine smuggling networks,” according to the police association. The suspects are said to have imported hard drugs from Latin America through European ports.

Two people have been arrested in the Netherlands, a spokesperson for the National Public Prosecutor’s Office said. It concerns a 40-year-old Dutchman from Purmerend and a 29-year-old Albanian who lived in Rotterdam. “They will be handed over to Belgium, where the main investigation is taking place,” said the spokesman.

Europol says several large cocaine finds in recent years could be linked to the suspects. The proceeds of the drug trade are said to have been laundered through companies set up by criminals, including in Spain and Croatia.

Members of the network are said to have traveled regularly to Dubai, Mexico and Colombia for their illegal activities. They coordinated these with each other via encrypted means of communication. Europol says the suspects “flooded” Europe with cocaine.

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