Europol helps take down cocaine ‘super cartel’ in six-country bust

A drugs cartel believed to control up to a third of Europe’s cocaine trade was taken down in a six-country bust, with 30 tonnes of drugs seized, Europol said on Monday.

The European policing agency had helped co-ordinate the takedown, with police arresting a total of 49 suspects in raids in Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Spain and the United Arab Emirates with help from the US Drug Enforcement Agency, DEA, over the space of 11 days in November.

At least six high-value targets of what Europol dubbed a “super cartel” were arrested in Dubai.

The operation, dubbed “Desert Light,” had been planned over a period of two years, helping authorities gain insight into what was described as a “prolific criminal network involved in large-scale drugs trafficking and money laundering”.

“The scale of cocaine importation into Europe under the suspects’ control and command was massive,” Europol said in a statement, adding that there is “no safe haven for drug lords”.

The super cartel takedown comes as authorities across Europe report record cocaine busts, particularly in the Belgian port of Antwerp.

Earlier in November, Belgian authorities stated that the cocaine shipments intercepted at Europe’s second-largest cargo port had created a significant backlog in its disposal, causing security concerns as tonnes of it were still waiting to be incinerated.

Just one raid in mid-October saw more than six tonnes of cocaine seized in the Belgian port, found in two shipping containers coming in from Suriname, Belgian customs revealed.

The raid of a cocaine-laced shipment from Suriname was one of more than 100 large-scale trafficking busts made at the port since the start of the year, adding up to some 71 tonnes from January up to that point.

With further major busts in recent weeks, the authorities expect that the 100-tonne mark will be surpassed by the end of 2022, domestic media reported.