Drug Trafficking Network Spanning Germany, Italy And Netherlands Smashed By Respective Police Forces

A network of drug traffickers composed mainly of Albanian nationals has been smashed during a joint operation involving police forces from Italy, the Netherlands, and Germany.

Eurojust and Europol fully supported the more than 600 officers who participated. A total of 51 locations were searched in the three countries, resulting in 35 suspects being apprehended. Funding for the joint investigation team (JIT) was carried out by Eurojust.

🚨 Strike against an Albanian drug trafficking network in Germany, Italy & the Netherlands.

👮 +600 police officers were involved in the operation & 35 suspects were arrested.

💪 Europol & @Eurojust supported the operation.

Press release ⤵️https://t.co/nLZAUZ6Ito

— Europol (@Europol) June 23, 2023

According to a statement from Europol, the criminal network was allegedly responsible for the large-scale trafficking of cocaine and cannabis from South America to Europe and its further distribution across the European Union.

Its members are notorious for their use of violence, including episodes of torture and kidnapping for the purpose of extortion.

Previous drug trafficking activities allegedly enabled the perpetrators to draw on significant financial resources

They had several logistic bases where the narcotic substances and the proceeds of the crime were stored, and where the associates could meet.

An extensive fleet of vehicles with sophisticated hidden compartments was uncovered. These were found to contain concealed mobile phones with encrypted texting applications and other utilities.

Between March 2020 and June 2021, the criminal network was believed to have carried out at least 36 imports totalling 1 tonne of cocaine and 1 tonne of hashish.

An estimated €1 billion would have been generated by the sale of these substances on the distribution market. More than €1 million in cash was also seized during the course of the investigation.

Members of the network were thought to have divided up the proceeds according to their respective roles. In Germany, some of the detainees owned a luxury restaurant, a bar and a real estate agency. These businesses were allegedly used to launder money from the gang’s drug trafficking activities.

Eurojust launched tha case in September 2021 at the request of the German authorities. A JIT was subsequently set up between the German and Italian authorities with the support of Eurojust in July 2022.

Two coordination meetings were hosted by the Agency to facilitate judicial cooperation and to prepare for the joint action day. A coordination centre was set up to enable rapid collaboration between the judicial authorities involved.

The case had been supported by Europol’s Serious Organised Crime Centre since the end of 2020. In that time, it exchanged more than 250 secure messages with the authorities involved.

Extensive analytical support allowed for the identification of the key targets and the mapping of their criminal activities around the globe.

A number of operational meetings were organised by Europol, either at its headquarters in The Hague or abroad. In addition, two Europol officers were deployed on the ground in Germany and Italy during the action day to support the authorities with their investigative measures.

A secure communication platform was also set up by Europol during the action day to allow the real-time exchange of tactical information among the different law enforcement authorities involved.