Europol dismantles huge cocaine cartel

Law enforcement officers from the United Arab Emirates and several European countries have taken down a drug cartel which was coordinating about a third of the cocaine trade in Europe.

A total of 49 suspects were arrested during this investigation, Caliber.Az reports, citing the press service of the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol).

Drug lords, whom Europol deemed high-value targets, joined together to form the so-called “super cartel”, which controlled about a third of the cocaine trade in Europe.
These arrests are the culmination of parallel investigations run in Spain, France, Belgium, the Netherlands and the UAE with the support of Europol into the activities of this prolific criminal network involved in large-scale drug trafficking and money laundering.

The scale of cocaine importation into Europe under the suspects’ control and command was massive. Over 30 tonnes of drugs were seized by law enforcement over the course of the investigations.