On June 13, Europol announced the dismantling of a major international drug trafficking network that operated between South America and Europe. This announcement marks the end of an investigation started by the Spanish Guardia Civil in 2020, with further investigations carried out in Belgium, Brazil, Croatia, Germany, Italy, Serbia, and Turkey. The final phase of this operation culminated with the arrest of four individuals in Spain on June 12.
Key Seizures and Operations
The operation kicked off with the seizure of one ton of cocaine off the Canary Islands in September 2020. The drugs were discovered on a Croatian-flagged sailing vessel, which had loaded the cargo from a freighter in the Gulf of Guinea. Another major seizure by the Guardia Civil in August 2023 involved a second sailing vessel carrying 700 kilos of cocaine off the Canary Islands. This vessel was also linked to another shipment of 500 kilos of cocaine from Brazil, underscoring the involvement of the same network.
International Network and Arrests
The network, with leaders operating out of Turkey and the United Arab Emirates, managed the trafficking of several tons of cocaine from Colombia, Brazil, and Ecuador to Europe, transiting through logistical hubs in West Africa and the Canary Islands. Storage centers in Belgium, Croatia, Germany, Italy, and Spain were then used to distribute the drugs across Europe.
Overall, this investigation led to 40 arrests across multiple countries (Brazil, Croatia, Germany, Serbia, Spain, and Turkey), the seizure of 8 tons of cocaine (in Spain, Belgium, and the Netherlands), and significant asset seizures (12.5 million euros and 3 million dollars in Brazil, and over 50 million euros frozen in Serbia). Brazilian authorities shed light on the criminal organization’s operations, which involved transporting cocaine from production countries and shipping it from Brazilian ports to West Africa. They also revealed that nearly 371 million euros had been laundered in Brazil in recent years.
This case highlights the increasing significance of the Brazil/West Africa/Europe route and West Africa’s role as a key transit and entry point for cocaine into Europe. It also emphasizes the role of Balkan criminal networks in the global cocaine trade and the critical importance of international cooperation in fighting drug trafficking. Europol supports member states’ investigations with intelligence and expertise in various areas requiring international cooperation: human trafficking, cybercrime, drug trafficking, money laundering, and terrorism.
