Europol press releases
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DRUGS WORTH NEARLY ONE BILLION DOLLARS SEIZED IN INTERNATIONAL LAW ENFORCEMENT OPERATION
The Hague, the Netherlands - 02 luglio 2013
Nearly 30 tonnes of cocaine, heroin and marijuana with an estimated value of USD 822 million have been seized in an operation targeting the maritime trafficking of drugs and illicit firearms by organised crime groups across Central America and the Caribbean. The international operation was led by Interpol and supported by Europol.
Operation Lionfish involved some 34 countries and territories* and also resulted in 142 arrests, the seizure of 15 vessels, eight tonnes of chemical precursors, 42 guns and approximately USD 170 000 in cash.
Two operational coordination units, at Interpol’s Regional Bureau in El Salvador and the Command Centre of the French West Indies Coastguard in Fort de France, Martinique, provided real-time support for information exchange and conducting checks against Interpol’s global databases. Europol deployed its mobile office and a senior analyst to the command centre in Martinique, where hundreds of real-time and systematic cross checks were made against Europol’s intelligence databases, supported by extensive operational analysis from Europol headquarters in The Hague.
Run in partnership with the World Customs Organization (WCO) and the Caribbean Customs Law Enforcement Council (CCLEC) with support from the French Coastguard and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), the joint law enforcement operation was also aimed at enhancing information sharing at regional and international levels, in order to improve intelligence on modus operandi, routes and the identification of organised crime structures and key players.
The operation was coordinated in response to growing evidence of the organised crime in the trafficking of drugs and firearms in the Central America and Caribbean regions due to its strategic location, with a significant increase in the number of cocaine seizures by local authorities, and a reported increase in violent crime.
* The following countries and territories took part in Operation Lionfish: Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Bahamas, Bermuda, Bonaire, British Virgin Islands, Canada, Cayman Islands, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Curacao, Dominica, Dominican Republic, France, Germany, Grenada, Guatemala, Jamaica, Mexico, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Panama, Sint Maarten, Spain, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos, United Kingdom, United States of America, Venezuela.
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MAJOR DRUGS TRAFFICKING AND MONEY LAUNDERING NETWORK DISMANTLED
The Hague, the Netherlands – 2013/7/19
Joint Press Release Europol - Eurojust
A lengthy joint Spanish and Belgian police investigation, supported by Europol and Eurojust, has resulted in the seizure of over 5 tonnes of hashish, many assets, and the arrest of 46 suspected members of a major organised crime group.
Operation Tunido/Boemerang ran for over a year and, in addition to the arrests, saw the seizure of assets valued at 13 750 000 euros, which included:
• 5301 kg of hashish
• 2 fishing boats
• 77 vehicles
• 20 buildings
• 5 companies
• 225 230 euros in cash.
A leather shop in Málaga (Spain) was a front for the prolific money launderers who, using nominee companies and money transfers to other countries, laundered more than 13 millions euros in 2012. It is estimated that, since 2007, the organised criminal group laundered around 50 million euros gained from trafficking hashish.
The criminal group had contacts in Africa who cultivated and processed the cannabis, which was then transferred from Morocco to Spain by boat. Once the drugs reached Spain, within minutes a gang would transfer the consignments to vehicles for storage or onward distribution to other European countries.
A joint investigation team was established through Eurojust, which was fundamental to facilitate the rapid exchange of intelligence between the Belgian Federal Police, the Spanish Guardia Civil and Europol.
Europol supported the investigation for over a year, by funding and hosting operational meetings, and delivering 15 forensic reports, two cross-match reports, three operational analysis reports and one social network analysis report. In addition, two Europol analysts were deployed, along with the mobile office and Universal Forensic Extraction Device (UFED). Data extracted from seized mobile phones will be further analysed and cross-checked by Europol.
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Major international operation against Hells Angels
The Hague, the Netherlands - 2013/7/24
With the support of Europol, Spanish Guardia Civil and National Police carried out 31 simultaneous house searches this morning at 6.45 am and arrested in total 25 Hells Angels Motorcycle Club (HAMC) members or affiliates of the club.
The operation, involving more than 200 law enforcement officers, focused on suspected criminals on the Spanish island of Mallorca, where Hells Angels recently opened a new charter with the support and protection of Hells Angels in Germany and Luxembourg. Those arrested today by Spanish SWAT team members are suspected of being involved in several crimes including drug trafficking, trafficking in human beings, extortion, money laundering and corruption. The Spanish prosecution service in charge of the operation suspects Hells Angels of being a criminal organisation.
The operation was based on a two and a half year investigation between Spain, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Austria, with the support of Europol and Eurojust.
Spanish law enforcement authorities were also supported by investigators from Germany, Luxembourg and Europol in the build up to today’s operation and during the operation.
During the house searches conducted in Mallorca, several cars and motorcycles were seized, as well as sums of money in cash and firearms. Investigators also seized computers, laptops, mobile phones and electronic devices.
The main threat to public safety associated with Hells Angels and other OMCGs (Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs) stems from their propensity to use extreme forms of violence. This includes the use of arms, explosive devices such as grenades, and the indiscriminate nature with which this violence is often used in open conflicts between rival groups. In general, the use of intimidation and violence is intrinsic to the OMCG subculture and serves to exert control over group members and others such as victims of extortion. In displaying their ‘colours’ and indentifying symbols, members of these groups exploit the reputation for violence associated with their particular OMCG to affirm their individual roles in local criminal markets.
Over the coming days, seized material will be analysed and further arrests may follow.
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EIGHTEEN ARRESTED FOR SMUGGLING AND ABUSING MIGRANTS FROM THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
The Hague, the Netherlands - 2013/7/26
With the support of Europol, 18 persons were arrested yesterday in Greece for smuggling and abusing irregular migrants. 20 victims, men and women from the Dominican Republic, were found and their ordeal was brought to an end.
The operation was led by the Organized Crime and Human Trafficking Unit of the Hellenic National Police (HNP), supported by Europol and in cooperation with the Spanish Central Unit against Illegal Immigration Networks and Forgery (UCRIF), as well as the US Authorities (DHS/ICE).
The organised criminal group (OCG) recruited individuals from the Dominican Republic to be smuggled into Spain via Turkey and Greece. The criminals took advantage of the visa regulations in Turkey to enter the country. Upon arrival, the migrants’ travel documents were taken away by the OCG members. They were then smuggled into Greece and placed in safe houses. If the migrants were not able to pay for their travel or accommodation, they were forced into prostitution and labour exploitation. Finally, the criminal network facilitated their travel to Spain, which was the final destination country. The migrants were charged approximately 5,000 to 6,000 EUR per person for the whole trip.
15 of the arrested persons are from the Dominican Republic with one each coming from Albania, Cuba and Greece. During the operation, 12 house searches were performed. 77 mobile phones, 25 SIM cards, 12 computers, 2 hard disks, 11 forged travel documents and a large amount of electronic money transfer invoices, air-tickets and boarding passes were also seized.
On the action day, Europol deployed a mobile office to Athens to support the operation with on-the-spot intelligence analysis. Throughout the investigation, Europol also facilitated the exchange of intelligence, hosted and participated in operational meetings, and provided tailored analytical support to the investigators.
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MOROCCAN-BASED DRUGS NETWORK DISMANTLED
2013/8/7
An international police operation supported by Europol and Eurojust has seen the dismantling of a major drug-smuggling network through 36 arrests and the seizure of over 1.5 tonnes of hashish.
The operation – led by Spain’s Guardia Civil, working with Europol, Eurojust, and French, Moroccan and Spanish law enforcement authorities – began last year when the Royal Moroccan Gendarmerie intercepted a boat laden with hashish and detained its crew. Moroccan authorities were able to confirm that the drugs were destined for Cadiz (Spain) where they were to be transported to another criminal organisation in France. It was then discovered that the traffickers were regularly trafficking hashish from Morocco to Spain, destined for onward distribution throughout Europe.
Searches carried out by law enforcement authorities in France, Morocco, Portugal and Spain also resulted in the seizure of more than EUR 32 000 in cash, over 200 mobile phones, 13 cars, one motorcycle, one boat, a bulletproof vest, a gun with ammunition, as well as cocaine and paraphernalia for weighing and portioning drugs.
The Moroccan head of the criminal network was killed in Cuerta (Spain) a few days ago as ‘accounts were settled’ between rival drug trafficking organisations. He was already known to Spanish law enforcement authorities for his previous criminal activities.
To support the operation, Europol and Eurojust hosted and funded operational meetings, and intelligence exchanged via Europol resulted in the identification of crucial links between the main targets in different countries. On the action days on 10 and 11 July 2013, Europol provided further support on-the-spot through the deployment of its mobile office.
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PROLIFIC TRAFFICKERS OF PRECURSOR CHEMICALS ARRESTED
The Hague, the Netherlands - 2013/8/8
Dutch and Polish law enforcement authorities, supported by Europol, have arrested four suspected members of an organised crime gang, responsible for the trafficking of massive amounts of chemicals for producing synthetic drugs. These chemicals were subsequently used for the illicit manufacture of synthetic drugs, mainly in the Netherlands.
As a result of successful investigations in the Netherlands and Poland, arrests were made in the Netherlands in June (three Dutch citizens and one Polish) plus 10 houses and chemical companies were searched. Based on invoices seized, it was revealed that the criminal gang had handled over 100 000 litres of chemicals for synthetic drugs since the start of 2012. Also confiscated during the raids were almost 19kg of amphetamine, two vehicles, a gun, and many documents confirming the purchase and delivery of substantial amounts of chemicals.
The manufacture of synthetic drugs is not possible without chemicals and precursors, which are indispensable for initiating the synthesis processes. These chemical compounds are therefore not only important for organised criminal groups involved in manufacturing synthetic drugs, but also for those converting/extracting heroin and cocaine.
Europol have pro-actively supported this bilateral investigation since 2010, which targeted an organised criminal group suspected of trafficking huge amounts of chemicals and precursors, from Poland to the Netherlands and, to a lesser extent, Belgium. Europol played a significant role throughout the investigation through the exchange and analysis of intelligence; the organisation of six operational meetings; the coordination and execution of operational activities including trans-border surveillance of the chemical transportation, and the execution of searches and arrests in June 2013; and the provision of expert knowledge via the Europol Illicit Laboratory Comparison System.
The investigation is still ongoing and now focusing on the financial side of the group’s criminal activity and the ‘high value targets’.
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LARGEST ECSTASY LAB EVER FOUND IN EUROPE DISMANTLED
2013/8/28
In a landmark operation supported by Europol and led by Belgium,(Asse Federal Police, in close cooperation with the Belgian Lab Intervention Team) law enforcement authorities have dismantled the largest illicit synthetic drugs production facility ever discovered in Europe and seized huge quantities of chemicals for producing ecstasy.
Following around 30 police raids in Belgium, the Netherlands and Poland, 14 main suspects were arrested and, in Belgium, 11 (nine men and two women) have been charged with possessing, manufacturing and trafficking drugs. The suspects, from Belgium, Bulgaria and Poland, are thought to be part of a well-established international organised crime group.
A vast drugs laboratory was found hidden within the premises of a farm near Chimay, in southern Belgium. One Bulgarian arrested worked as the ‘chemist’ and was discovered locked inside the production facility, in a concealed fitted-out apartment. In total, two clandestine laboratories and two warehouses in Belgium were raided.
The setup of this illegal laboratory was very unique due to the volume and capacity of the custom-made equipment installed. In addition to the drugs production equipment, an enormous amount of drug precursors, essential chemicals and solvents were seized. This included several tonnes of the ecstasy precursor safrole, and around a tonne of crystal MDMA, one of the purer forms of ecstasy. The drugs production equipment is estimated to be worth several hundred million euros and the laboratory had the potential to produce hundreds of kilos of synthetic drugs.
Europol supported Belgian authorities with intelligence analysis during the operation and Europol experts were also dispatched to provide three days of on-the-spot technical assistance in dismantling the hazardous drugs laboratory. Investigations are still ongoing.
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