Police Smash European Cocaine 'Super Cartel,' Arrest 49

Police detain people in several countries including Spain (EPA)
Police detain people in several countries including Spain (EPA)
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Police Smash European Cocaine 'Super Cartel,' Arrest 49

Police detain people in several countries including Spain (EPA)
Police detain people in several countries including Spain (EPA)

Law enforcement authorities in six different countries have joined forces to take down a “super cartel" of drugs traffickers controlling about one third of the cocaine trade in Europe, the European Union crime agency said on Monday.

Europol said 49 suspects have been arrested during the investigation, with the latest series of raids across Europe and the United Arab Emirates taking place between Nov. 8-19.

Over 30 metric tons (33 tons) of drugs were seized during the investigations run in Spain, France, Belgium, the Netherlands with the support of Europol. The US Drug Enforcement Administration also played a role in bringing down the organization, which was also involved in money laundering, Europol said.

“The scale of cocaine importation into Europe under the suspects’ control and command was massive," Europol said, adding that the suspects used encrypted communications to organize drugs shipments.

The Netherlands was the country where most of the arrests were made, with 14 suspects arrested in 2021. Europol said six “high-value targets" were arrested in Dubai.
Dutch authorities said one of the suspects arrested in Dubai allegedly imported thousands of kilos of cocaine into the Netherlands in 2020 and 2021. The 37-year-old man with both Dutch and Moroccan nationality is also being prosecuted for laundering large amounts of money and possession of firearms. Police started investigating him after investigators cracked the encrypted messaging service Sky ECC, which is popular with criminals.

A 40-year-old Dutch-Bosnian citizen was also arrested following an investigation based on intercepted Sky messages, according to Dutch police. He is suspected of importing into Europe cocaine and raw materials for the production of amphetamines.

Record amounts of cocaine are being seized in Europe. Its availability on the continent has never been higher, with extremely high purity and low prices.

More than 214 tons of cocaine were seized in the region in 2020, a 6% increase from the previous year, and experts from the European Monitoring Center for Drugs and Drug Addiction believe that amount could reach 300 metric tons (330 tons) in 2022.



Large Russian Drone Attack Injures Civilians in Central Ukraine

Rescuers work at the site of a residential building damaged during a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in the town of Dolynska, in Kirovohrad region, Ukraine, February 18, 2025. Head of Kirovohrad Regional Military Administration Andrii Raikovych via Telegram/Handout via REUTERS
Rescuers work at the site of a residential building damaged during a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in the town of Dolynska, in Kirovohrad region, Ukraine, February 18, 2025. Head of Kirovohrad Regional Military Administration Andrii Raikovych via Telegram/Handout via REUTERS
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Large Russian Drone Attack Injures Civilians in Central Ukraine

Rescuers work at the site of a residential building damaged during a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in the town of Dolynska, in Kirovohrad region, Ukraine, February 18, 2025. Head of Kirovohrad Regional Military Administration Andrii Raikovych via Telegram/Handout via REUTERS
Rescuers work at the site of a residential building damaged during a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in the town of Dolynska, in Kirovohrad region, Ukraine, February 18, 2025. Head of Kirovohrad Regional Military Administration Andrii Raikovych via Telegram/Handout via REUTERS

A large-scale overnight Russian drone attack hit a residential building in the city of Dolynska in central Ukraine, injuring a mother and her two children and forcing evacuations from 38 apartments, a regional official said on Tuesday.
"A difficult night for the Kirovohrad region," Andriy Raikovych, the region's governor, said in a post on the Telegram messaging app. "An enemy drone hit a high-rise building in Dolynska."
The mother and one of the children were taken to hospital, said Raikovych, who posted photos of flames bursting out of windows of a high-story apartment building.
The Ukrainian military said on Tuesday that Russia launched 176 drones in a large-scale attack.
Ukraine's air force shot down 103 of the drones and 67 did not reach their targets, probably due to electronic countermeasures, the military said.
According to Reuters, it did not specify what happened to the remaining six drones, but said that Kirovohrad, Kharkiv, Kyiv and Cherkasy regions were impacted.
Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko said that drone debris fell in one of the districts of the capital, causing a fire at an industrial enterprise.
Reuters could not independently verify the report. There was no immediate comment from Russia.
Both Moscow and Kyiv deny targeting civilians in the war, which Russia started with its full-scale invasion on Ukraine nearly three years ago. But thousands of civilians have died in the conflict, the vast majority of them Ukrainian.
The attack took place as top Russian and US officials are meeting in Saudi Arabia for talks - without the participation of Kyiv or its European allies - on how to end the war in Ukraine.