The Belgian Federal Police, with assistance from Europol and the Colombian and Spanish police services, has arrested the members of an international criminal organisation that was smuggling cocaine on a large scale from Colombia into the EU. A total of 32 people have been arrested and as much as 5,800 kilos of cocaine has been seized. Europol says that the leader of the criminal network has also been arrested.
The operation began in April 2023 and was coordinated by Europol. Police discovered that most of the criminals involved in the network operated from Spain and Colombia. Cocaine was smuggled from South America into Europe aboard merchant ships. The drugs were hidden in containers and then taken out at various ports. The ports of Cartagena, Baranquilla, Barcelona, Valencia and Antwerp are said to have been the main ports used by the gang.
The gang members were assisted in their criminal activities by corrupt officials and customs officers. This is how they managed to avoid police checks. According to Europol, identifying the corrupt officials was crucial in exposing the drug smuggling gang’s logistics chain.
On October, 2 high-ranking fugitive members of the Camorra (a mafia organisation with its origins in Naples) were already arrested in Colombia. On 5 November, another 6 people were arrested. The operation eventually resulted in 32 arrests and 5.8 tonnes of cocaine were seized.
Europol also says that police managed to arrest individuals that played key roles within the gang. Not only corrupt officials and those that offered logistical support were apprehended, but also people that were responsible for the coordination of the gang’s activities, investors and the suspected leader of the gangs were arrested.