Police have arrested 13 people in an international operation targeting an organised crime group accused of bringing hundreds of kilograms of cocaine into Scotland and laundering millions in criminal profits.
The arrests were made on 27 March during coordinated action across the Netherlands, Spain and the United Kingdom, with support from Europol and the EU judicial cooperation agency Eurojust, Europol announced on Friday.
Five suspects were arrested in Spain after searches in the Malaga area and Barcelona, with searches still ongoing.
Eight suspects were arrested in Scotland in Lanarkshire, Glasgow and West Lothian, .
Authorities in Turkey seized two plots of land, a villa and company shares, with the real estate estimated to be worth about EUR 600,000, and took statements from four Turkish citizens as witnesses.
Suspected leadership based abroad
Investigators believe senior figures in the group operated from Spain and the United Arab Emirates, directing activity and managing profits from abroad, Europol said.
The investigation has been supported by Europol since 2020 and remains ongoing, with authorities also examining violent incidents including shootings linked to organised crime conflicts originating in Scotland.
An operational task force was set up at Europol in May 2024 to coordinate work against the network, and Europol staff were deployed to Spain and Scotland on the action day to support enforcement and coordination.
Police Scotland and the National Crime Agency took part in the operation alongside Spain’s Guardia Civil, the Dutch police, Dubai Police and Turkish authorities.
