The European Police Agency EUROPOL has announced that on November 12 it assisted in an investigation carried out by German authorities regarding a group of mercenaries hired by a criminal network to kidnap the leader of a rival Albanian drug-trafficking gang.

The head of this Albanian gang – whose name has not been made public – is suspected of having orchestrated the theft of several tons of cannabis worth millions of euros, reports RFE/RL.

The coordinated action focused on Latvian nationals, some of whom had backgrounds in the French Foreign Legion.

EUROPOL said that authorities from Denmark, France, Latvia and the United Kingdom were involved in the operation.

“These highly trained individuals were equipped with professional gear and were operating on behalf of the organized crime group.”

On the day of the police operation, four individuals were arrested in Denmark, France, Latvia and the United Kingdom, while two others—who had been arrested in October 2014 in Germany—have already been convicted by the courts.