On 27 October, 19 criminals from a Nigerian organized crime network involved in large-scale cocaine trafficking were arrested in a coordinated law enforcement operation led by Luxembourg's Grand Ducal Police and supported by Luxembourg Customs and Europol. The network is accused of selling and distributing cocaine from Belgium to Luxembourg.
On the action day more than 250 police and customs officers carried out house searches in Luxembourg and one in Belgium. The premises searched were rented by Nigerian members of the network who were staying illegally in the country, and they served as the headquarters for the cocaine traffickers to store and distribute the cocaine, and plan their criminal activities. Various evidence was seized including more than EUR 100 000 in cash, cocaine, documents and mobile devices.
Europol[1] supported this investigation by facilitating criminal intelligence analysis and providing operational support. During the action day, Europol deployed two specialists on-the-spot, equipped with a mobile office to make real-time cross-checks of the information gathered against Europol's databases.
[1] Focal Point (FP) Cola is Europol's team of specialists and analysts dedicated to tackling cocaine trafficking. Since 2001, FP Cola has been combating the activities of suspected criminal organizations and networks involved in producing, processing and trafficking cocaine, as well as pre-cursor chemicals and cutting agents.
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- Press Release