As announced on Wednesday, May 28, the Europol Agency, the police authorities of France and Belgium have arrested 13 people with French nationality in recent days, in addition to a Belgian, a Serbian and an individual with dual Mexican-American nationality.
After seizing 216 kilos of crystalline methamphetamine in June 2024, with the arrest of two French involved, an investigation began that revealed the existence of this network, involved in the production and trafficking of synthetic drugs, with “Strong links” to the Sinaloa cartel Already active bands in Belgium, Spain, the Netherlands and New Zealand.
“The chemicals used to manufacture drugs came from China. The tests gathered allowed to identify the main responsible: an Algerian and a French. Both would be involved throughout the criminal chain: illegal introduction of precursors, laboratory installation, production (‘cooking’) of drugs and subsequent traffic. They used cryptocurrencies to facilitate financial transactions,” said Europol.
The two main organizers depended on logistics support, technical knowledge and preparation provided by Mexican posters, while these posters use local intermediaries to establish and expand their influence.
On May 19, 16 home records were also held and three vehicles, luxury goods valued at 100 thousand euros, almost 80 thousand euros in bank accounts, in addition to telephones, electronic devices and about 10 thousand euros in cash were seized. Authorities froze about 30 thousand euros in cryptocurrencies.
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During the operation, the agents inspected an old methamphetamine laboratory, and They found illegal chemical spills tests: Abandoned containers, chemical waste and clandestine elimination signs (burial and discharge in the area), which, the European agency points out, “suggests an attempt to hide the magnitude of the activity.”
Europol experts warn that, although these types of laboratories are not new in the EU, synthetic drug production and trafficking “is rapidly increasing”, since now this criminal activity is no longer limited to a few “few regions”, but encompasses more Member States and supplies both internal and international markets.
In addition, these are groups that are characterized by violence, corruption and infiltration in legal businesses. EFE