A drug trafficking network, composed mainly of Albanians, was hit during a cross-border police operation in three countries, Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands, as announced on Friday through a press release by Europol and Eurojust, two European agencies that supported the investigations and coordinated the intervention.

During the operation, 35 suspects were arrested, and 51 locations were searched in the aforementioned countries. More than 600 police officers were involved in the operation. The criminal network is suspected to be responsible for wide-scale trafficking of cocaine and cannabis from South America to Europe and its further distribution throughout the European Union. According to the press release, members of this group are “known for their use of violence, including episodes of torture and kidnapping for extortion”.

From the investigation data, it is evident that “the perpetrators were able to exploit significant financial resources believed to have been acquired from previous drug trafficking activities. They had several logistic bases where narcotics and the proceeds from trafficking were stored, and where they could meet each other. They also possessed a wide fleet of vehicles equipped with hidden compartments, sophisticated communication devices with encrypted messaging applications, and other services”.

This network has managed to import 1 ton of cocaine and 1 ton of hash from South America in 35 episodes, between March 2020 and June 2021. It is estimated that these activities generated revenues of over 1 billion euros. Additionally, over 1 million euros in cash were seized during the investigation. In Germany, some of the suspects owned a luxury restaurant, a bar, and a real estate agency, which are believed to have been used for money laundering purposes related to drug trafficking activities.