European police forces have announced the dismantling of a huge drug trafficking network that controls a third of cocaine trafficking in Europe.
Police have arrested 49 suspects from several countries, including 6 considered “important targets” in Dubai, Europol announced on Monday.
The European Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation said in a statement that 30 tonnes of drugs were seized as part of the huge international operation, while suspects were arrested in France, Spain, Belgium and the Netherlands .
The agency said Dubai had arrested two “very important” suspects linked to the Netherlands, as well as two people linked to Spain and others linked to France.
13 people were arrested in Spain, 6 in France and 10 in Belgium, while 14 people were arrested in 2021 in the Netherlands in the same trial, according to the statement.
Prosecutors in the Netherlands said they would request the suspects’ extradition from the UAE.
One of the suspects is a 37-year-old with dual Dutch and Moroccan nationality who was arrested on suspicion of importing thousands of kilograms of cocaine into the Netherlands in 2020 and 2021.
“These are serious crimes related to international drug trafficking, particularly from South America through the ports of Antwerp and Rotterdam,” the Dutch prosecutor said in a statement.
Another suspect is a 40-year-old man with dual Dutch and Bosnian nationality.
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