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Police have dismantled a huge drugs “super-cartel” that controlled a third of Europe’s cocaine trade, arresting 49 people in various countries, including six chief suspects in Dubai, Europol said on Monday.
The international operation seized 30 tonnes of the drug and led to arrests in Belgium, France, the Netherlands and Spain, the European Union’s police agency said in a statement. The crackdown largely targeted cocaine coming from South America through the ports of Rotterdam and Antwerp.
Europol said Dubai had arrested two “high-value” suspects who are linked to France, two connected to the Netherlands and another two linked to Spain.
Lt. General Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, confirmed that ‘Operation Desert Light’ comes within the framework of joint international cooperation efforts to contribute to combating money laundering and drug trafficking crimes.
“The drugpins, considered as high-value targets by Europol, had come together to form what was known as a ‘super cartel’ which controlled around one third of the cocaine trade in Europe,” Europol said.
“The scale of cocaine importation into Europe under the suspects’ control and command was massive and over 30 tonnes of drugs were seized by law enforcement over the course of the investigations.”
The latest series of raids across Europe and the United Arab Emirates took place between November 8-19. Ten people were arrested in Belgium, six in France and 13 in Spain. Another 14 people were arrested in 2021 in the Netherlands as part of the same operation, the Hague-based organisation said.
The arrests were the latest in a series that followed a police hack of sophisticated encrypted telephones used by organised crime networks last year, Europol said.
The agency added police forces involved in “Operation Desert Light” targeted both the “command-and-control centre and the logistical drugs trafficking infrastructure in Europe.”
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