The European police and judicial authorities have struck a blow against a global network of criminals. The European police organization Europol and the European judicial authority Eurojust jointly announced that 44 people in ten countries – including one in Germany – had been arrested during raids. They are accused, among other things, of drug trafficking and money laundering. They would be suspected of belonging to a criminal network considered one of the most dangerous in the European Union.
The investigation found that several criminal organizations on three continents were working together to commit large-scale crimes inside and outside the European Union, it said. There were 94 searches across Europe on Tuesday targeting the leaders of these criminal organizations and their accomplices. The network’s criminal groups are said to operate in Lithuania, Latvia, the Czech Republic, Poland, France, Germany and Slovakia.
Cross-border criminal cooperation
According to Europol and Eurojust, the sheer scale of drug trafficking attributed to this criminal network is enormous. Large quantities of various illegal drugs such as cocaine, hashish and cannabis as well as methamphetamine were seized during the raids. The network is structured like a company, with various criminal groups working together across borders. In this way, attempts are being made to control the entire chain of drug trafficking – from the organization of huge drug shipments to distribution. The gang members are extremely flexible in order to evade law enforcement agencies.
According to the information, judicial and law enforcement authorities from eleven countries were involved in the “unprecedented international operation”, including Germany, the USA, France and Spain. The investigations were conducted by Lithuanian authorities and coordinated by Europol and Eurojust.
