13/12 Ukraine arms-trafficking into Poland on rise. Attempts to smuggle illegal firearms into Poland from the Ukraine are on the rise, according to an internal EU document. “Although large-scale trafficking of firearms has not yet become apparent, an increasing number of attempts to smuggle firearms from Ukraine to Poland has already been observed,” notes the document, dated 30 November. It also found evidence of arms-trafficking in the opposite direction, from the EU.
15/12 Bulgarian customs inspectors have seized 58.766 kg of heroin at the country’s Lesovo checkpoint at its border with Turkey. The drug, split into 114 packets, was found hidden in a secret compartment in a Bulgaria-registered BMW convertible entering from Turkey. Authorities estimated the value of the heroin would exceed $1.35 million.
15/12 Spanish authorities, in collaboration with their Dutch partners, reported on Tuesday the arrest of 16 people and the dismantling of a Mexican cartel’s drug trafficking and money laundering operation that saw narcotics being concealed inside concrete blocks and smuggled into Europe. Authorities have been investigating the scheme since 2017 and found that a company in Mexico was manufacturing the concrete blocks specially for the Beltrán Leyva cartel.
15/12 German police incinerate cocaine worth €270 million in huge operation. Some 1.5 metric tons of the drug were incinerated in the force’s biggest such operation. Authorities said the drugs were burned under heavy security at an undisclosed facility in the south of Bavaria.
16/12 US unveils executive orders to fight transnational organized crime, illegal drug trade. This new authority will allow Washington to better target and disrupt bad actors across the whole drug trafficking system, the notice read.
17/12 17 arrests in Spain for large-scale drug trafficking and money laundering. The criminal network allegedly smuggled tonnes of hashish and cocaine from Morocco to Spain. The organised crime group created and misused a large network of companies, including several cash-intensive businesses such as two restaurants in Barcelona. These businesses served to launder the drug-trafficking proceeds.
17/12 Colombian Authorities Announce Largest Cocaine Seizure of 2021. A November 23 joint operation by the Colombian Military Forces and the Office of the Attorney General resulted in the largest drug seizure of 2021 in a single operation: nearly 10 tons of cocaine ready for packaging and more than 10 tons of cocaine in the powder processing phase.
17/12 Police in Rotterdam discovered 1,000 kilograms of cocaine in a commercial property. An estimate of the value of the drugs was not provided, but a seizure last week that was twice as large was valued at 150 million euros. No arrests were made in the latest find. Police found the cocaine as part of an ongoing investigation into drug trafficking. The cocaine was destroyed soon after it was found.
17/12 544 arrests and €63 million of fake pharmaceuticals and illegal doping substances seized. More than 6 500 doping checks performed during Europe-wide operation Shield II.
