DRUG MEGA-BUST
Brit ‘drug kingpin’ among 49 arrested as cocaine ‘super-cartel’ is busted across Europe & Dubai with supercars seized
A BRITISH drugs kingpin reportedly at the head of a cartel responsible for a third of Europe's cocaine market has been arrested in a daring raid.
The British national was seized by cops in Dubai after allegedly fleeing there from the Costa del Sol, his previous base of operations.
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In a mammoth operation described as "historic", police arrested 49 different suspected cartel members in five different countries.
Spain's Guardia Civil, one of the police forces involved in the Europol-conducted operation, revealed on Monday that separate raids had been carried out in Spain, France, Belgium, Holland, and the United Arab Emirates.
They said they had successfully taken down the "European cocaine super cartel" controlled by Dubai-based drug lords.
A spokesman for the force said: "Seven are considered High-Value Targets (HVTs) by Europol."
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The spokesman revealed that Spanish cops were originally tipped off to the scale of the operation when they seized a container with almost 700kg of cocaine inside at a port in Valencia in March 2020.
Although no arrests were made at the time, he added: "This gave rise to a large interchange of information, under the Europol umbrella, with other countries’ police forces which resulted in the identification of the people in charge of the introduction of the drugs into the container as well as the ‘contamination’ of the container at the port of origin in Panama.
"During the probe investigators were able to establish that a criminal organisation was smuggling containers with cocaine inside through the ports of Barcelona, Valencia and Algeciras.
"At the same time, a complex real estate business set-up had been created on the Costa del Sol to launder the proceeds of the profits obtained from the drug smuggling.
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"The leader of this organisation was identified as a British man linked to the Costa del Sol who had to leave Spain and move to Dubai after he was the subject of a kidnap attempt.
"From Dubai, he continued to direct and coordinate the organisation’s criminal activities, while at the same time maintaining drug-trafficking contacts and business interests with the rest of the drug lords based in this emirate city."
Raids were carried out across Europe and Dubai between November 8 and 19.
Spanish police described the raids, coordinated by Europol as part of operation Desert Light, as "historic".
The spokesman added: "Forty-nine people in Spain, France, Belgium, Holland and Dubai have been arrested and among them, there are seven people considered by Europol to be High-Value Targets.
"With this operation, a historic feat has been achieved in the fight against global drugs-trafficking.
"The police actions in Dubai, culminating with the simultaneous detentions of six HVTs who were there because they felt sure they could avoid arrest, is unprecedented.
"For months the Civil Guard has been working in a close and coordinated way with the Dubai Police within the framework of Operation Faukas.
With this operation, a historic feat has been achieved in the fight against global drugs-trafficking
Spokesman, Guardia Civil
"This has reinforced the links between both police forces which has facilitated a number of successful police actions in the last few months.
"From Dubai, the leaders of this mega cartel controlled and directed the criminal activities of the different cells with the conviction that they were living in a sanctuary where they felt untouchable.”
"With this international effort by all the agencies involved, a firm message is being sent to criminal organisations, in the sense that no place is safe for those who try to avoid justice.
"More than 30 tonnes of cocaine were seized in different European ports during the period of investigation and it’s estimated that this macro-criminal organisation was behind a third of the total cocaine market in Europe."
It isn't yet known how many of the 49 seized were British citizens, although one of the alleged leaders is confirmed to be a UK national.
He is described by police as being in charge of laundering profits from the drug trade into Spain through real estate purchases.
Cops reportedly confiscated around 500,000 euros (£431k) as well as three weapons and expensive cars.
Footage released by the Guardia Civil on Monday showed heavily-armed officers raiding the mansions of some of the suspects, who were then led away in handcuffs.
A spokesman for Europol said: "A total of 49 suspects have been arrested during the course of this investigation. The drugpins considered as high-value targets by Europol had come together to form what was known as a ‘super cartel’ which controlled around one-third of the cocaine trade in Europe.
"These arrests are the culmination of parallel investigations run in Spain, France, Belgium, the Netherlands and the UAE with the support of Europol into the activities of this prolific criminal network involved in large-scale drugs trafficking and money laundering.
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"The scale of cocaine importation into Europe under the suspects’ control and command was massive and over 30 tonnes of drugs were seized by law enforcement over the course of the investigations.
"This coordinated clampdown sends a strong message to criminals seeking sanctuary from law enforcement."
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