Cocaine kingpins who flooded Europe with tonnes of the drug have been seized by police in Brazil.
A joint operation between European and South American police tracked the shipments from Paraguay into Germany via a Brazilian company.
Officers seized more than 17 tonnes of cocaine with a street value of billions plus assets worth more than EUR 80 million (GBP 70 million) in a series of raids on Thursday, 30th March.
Europol – the European police organisation that coordinated the raids – say 15 suspects were arrested in Operation Hinterland.
Newsflash obtained a statement from Europol on Friday, 31st March, saying (in English): “In a significant victory for the war on drugs, law enforcement in Latin America and Europe have taken down one of Brazil’s most active drug trafficking organisations inundating Europe with multi-tonnes shipments of cocaine.”
The statement added: “A total of 15 individuals were arrested, and over EUR 80 million worth of assets were seized.
“Over the course of the investigation, over 17 tonnes of cocaine linked to this criminal organisation were seized, with an estimated street value of several billions of euros.”
Police said the two-year investigation had taken down the trafficking network’s entire setup.
The statement said: “Known as Operation HINTERLAND, this two-year-long investigation culminated in a series of actions carried out simultaneously on 30th March to bring down the entire criminal infrastructure linked to this group.
“Enforcement measures were carried out against the criminal organisation responsible for the multiple cocaine shipments, its suppliers as well as its money-laundering structure.
“This action day was coordinated from two command centres in Porte Alegre and Rio Grande (Brazil).”
The authorities added that the operation in Brazil had resulted in 37 property searches, 15 arrests, seizure of 173 vehicles and one aircraft.
Assets from 66 companies were frozen and nearly 150 bank accounts were seized.
Europol also said that steps are being taken in Spain to “locate and seize assets belonging to members of the criminal organisation”.
The operation began in 2020 when police in Germany intercepted a cocaine shipment apparently sent by a Brazilian company.
Further investigation uncovered a criminal network that had flooded Europe with cocaine without ever being previously suspected.
The Europol statement continued: “The investigation was initiated in Brazil after the Brazilian Federal Police received intelligence from the German Customs on a seizure in December 2020 of 316 kilogrammes [696.66 lbs] of cocaine in Hamburg (Germany). The initial information suggested that a Brazilian company was being used for shipping cocaine from Brazil to Europe.
“Based on the analysis carried out by Europol and the French authorities (OFAST), the Brazilian Federal Police was able to fully map out the criminal network which had until then mostly operated under the radar.
“The investigators were able to uncover how this Brazilian drug trafficking organisation was importing cocaine from Paraguay concealed in lorries, before exporting it to Europe.
“A first arrest was carried out in October 2022 by the Brazilian Federal Police. A priority target was arrested in Paraguay for his alleged involvement in running the logistics between Paraguay and Brazil, and negotiating directly with the suppliers in Paraguay and Bolivia.
“The final rounds of arrests on 30th March was the culmination of many months of surveillance, intelligence gathering and coordination between the various law enforcement authorities involved in preparation for the action.”
The authorities said that the Brazilian Federal Police had been involved in the operation, as well as France’s National Police, Germany’s Customs and Spain’s Civil Guard, with the support of Europol.
