The European Union police company Europol says that legislation enforcement authorities in Colombia have arrested an alleged drug baron wished within the Netherlands
THE HAGUE, Netherlands — An alleged drug baron wished within the Netherlands over his suspected involvement in cocaine and methamphetamine was arrested in Colombia, the European Union police company Europol stated Thursday.
The arrest comes amid sustained efforts to disrupt networks of traffickers who smuggle big quantities of cocaine into Europe, typically by ports within the Netherlands and neighboring Belgium.
Dutch authorities have arrested a number of alleged gangsters lately linked to the nation’s violent and profitable drug trafficking networks.
The 43-year-old Colombian nationwide was detained Tuesday within the western metropolis of Tulua on a Dutch warrant and is now in custody awaiting extradition. His identify was not launched.
The Dutch Public Prosecution Workplace stated in a press release that the suspect is allegedly a “key participant in an ongoing investigation and is suspected of cocaine smuggling, participation in a prison group and cash laundering.”
Europol helped the Dutch-led investigation with intelligence on Mexican and Colombian drug cartels gained from encrypted communications. It stated that the probe tied the suspect to a seizure of two.5 metric tons (2.76 tons) of methamphetamine in 2019. He’s additionally suspected of involvement within the laundering of 20 million euros ($22.4 million).
Europol stated that over the course of the investigation, which additionally concerned legislation enforcement businesses in Spain, the USA and Colombia, “a number of drug labs had been dismantled in Europe, and over 50 suspects arrested.”
They described the Colombian suspect as having been “on the run, with legislation enforcement internationally working collectively to find him and convey him to justice.”