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| Money seized by Europol, source: Guardia di Finanza, Trento |
Europol conducted an operation in Italy and Spain this Wednesday morning, where 33 suspects were arrested in a coordinated action against a global criminal network involved in cocaine trafficking and money laundering.
The suspected perpetrators, who are of Italian, Albanian, Colombian, Moroccan, and Syrian nationality, had established an international network of companies to launder illicit funds.
The criminal network provided a professional criminal service to conceal the origin of revenues generated from the illegal drug trafficking from South America.
With the support of Europol, Eurojust, and money laundering specialists from the Italian Guardia di Finanza, assets worth €18.5 million were seized as part of the operation.
The intricate structure utilized companies in countries such as China, Turkey, and the United States, among others. This complex network of companies allowed organized crime to disguise the nature, source, location, ownership, control, origin, and ultimate destination of unlawfully obtained funds.