More than 230 people were arrested on Tuesday, including one in Belgium, in a large-scale police action against drug mafia across five European countries.
A total of 234 suspects were detained, with 225 arrests taking place in Turkey.
The operation targeted four criminal networks involved in drug trafficking, money laundering, and violent crimes. These networks smuggled cocaine from South America to Turkey and Europe via sea and land routes, heroin from Iran and Afghanistan, cannabis through the Balkans, and MDMA pills from other European countries.
Police confiscated over 21 tonnes of drugs, including 3.3 million MDMA tablets, as well as vehicles and cash.
The operation was conducted in Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain and Turkey. Europol reported that one person was arrested in Belgium, although details were not provided.
French police shared decrypted data - harvested from encrypted messaging systems popular among drug traffickers – with Turkish authorities, which helped initiate the action.
In Belgium, branches of the federal police specialising in organised crime and the Federal Judicial Police of East Flanders participated in the operation.
Europol’s Andy Kraag described the operation as “a hammer blow to organised crime,” highlighting that gang leaders were among those arrested.
The operation was made possible through intercepted messages from previously dismantled encrypted communication systems SKY ECC and ANOM, which remain useful in ongoing investigations.
Further arrests are not ruled out by Europol.
