A total of 31 people have been arrested in a large-scale operation targeting cocaine importation into Europe, according to the European Union law enforcement agency, Europol.
More than three tonnes of drugs were also seized during the operation. All the suspects were arrested in Spain and Ecuador, with particular focus on two alleged leaders. They include an Italian of Argentinian descent living in Marbella and an Albanian residing in Ecuador.
The Italian individual arranged monthly deliveries of four tonnes of cocaine from Colombian suppliers to Ecuador. The Albanian, under the guise of fruit export companies, organised the trafficking of the drugs from Colombia to Ecuador, intended for the European Union.
The Italian laundered the trafficking money by investing in businesses, bars, restaurants and gyms in Spain. His main partners handled the distribution throughout Europe, with strong ties in the Balkans, Europol clarified in a statement.
Belgian, Albanian, Ecuadorian, Dutch and Turkish police seized several shipments carrying a total of 3.2 tonnes of cocaine. The investigation linked the two network leaders to financial transactions amounting to a total of 48 million euros in Ecuador and Spain.
Police froze properties worth a similar amount in both countries—12 million euros in Spain and 36 million in Ecuador. Overall, authorities searched 66 locations and seized almost three million euros in various currencies, 10 firearms, 25 vehicles and electronic equipment worth 13 million euros.
