The European police agency Europol has announced the dismantling of a large European cocaine smuggling network.
49 suspects were arrested in different countries, including six "high-ranking targets" in Dubai, Europol said on Monday in The Hague.
30 tons of cocaine seized
These had joined together to form a "super cartel" that "controlled around a third of the cocaine trade in Europe".
According to the announcement, there were also arrests in the Netherlands, Belgium, France and Spain.
In addition, 30 tons of cocaine were seized.
"The scale of the cocaine importation into Europe under the control of the suspects was massive," Europol pointed out.
Two of the six “high-ranking targets” had connections to the Netherlands, two to Spain and two to France.
"One of the Dutch suspects is an extremely big fish," the AFP news agency learned from a source in the European police agency.
According to the Dutch prosecutor, the suspect with connections to the Netherlands is a 37-year-old with Dutch and Moroccan citizenship who is said to have smuggled thousands of kilograms of cocaine into the Netherlands in 2020 and 2021.
A 40-year-old with a Dutch and Bosnian passport was also arrested.
The Dutch public prosecutor's office announced that it would apply to the United Arab Emirates for the extradition of the two suspects.