Europol busts Europe-wide drug ring in ‘largest-ever’ operation

Hague-based bureau for warring planetary and organised transgression says it has dealt ‘massive blow’ to narco traffickers.

European constabulary person smashed a large web manufacturing synthetic drugs successful amerciable labs crossed respective countries.

Polish prosecutors announced connected Wednesday that investigators had seized much than 9.3 tonnes of narcotics and arrested much than 100 suspects successful an cognition targeting ⁠a transgression web centred successful the Central European state and spanning the European Union.

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The cognition dismantled 24 industrial-scale labs and seized astir 1,000 tonnes of chemicals, imported legally from China and India, utilized to marque thoroughfare drugs specified arsenic MDMA, amphetamine and meth, according to quality bureau AFP.

Andy Kraag, caput of Europol’s European Serious Organised Crime Centre, which coordinated constabulary actions crossed borders, said the cognition had dealt a “massive stroke to organised transgression groups progressive successful cause trafficking”.

“I’ve been successful this concern for a while. This is by acold the largest-ever cognition we did against synthetic cause accumulation and distribution,” helium said.

The yearlong cognition progressive constabulary from Belgium, the Czech Republic, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland and Spain. Among those arrested were 2 suspected ringleaders, some from Poland, Kraag said.

Laboratories and cause accumulation lines were located successful Belgium, the Czech Republic, Germany, the Netherlands and Poland, which served arsenic the logistical hub.

The bulk of those arrested were from Poland, but Belgian and Dutch nationals are besides thought to person been involved.

Suspicions were raised successful 2024 erstwhile Polish constabulary noticed a web importing immense quantities of chemicals from China and India.

Investigators discovered they were being repackaged, mislabelled and redistributed crossed the EU to the labs.

Kraag said the cognition was portion of a “supply-chain strategy” to choke disconnected the synthetic cause manufacture astatine its source.

“These transgression groups, they don’t person their proviso immoderate more,” helium said.