Khaberni - The European Police (Europol) announced today, Wednesday, the dismantling of a major network for producing and distributing synthetic drugs that had been operating in several European countries, describing the operation as "the largest of its kind ever."
The authorities in the concerned countries dismantled 24 laboratories and seized about a thousand tons of chemicals used in the manufacture of drugs such as ecstasy (MDMA), amphetamine, and methamphetamine.
The Director of the European Organized Crime Centre, Andy Kraag, told the Agence France-Presse, "I have been in this field for a long time. This is the biggest operation we have ever carried out against the production and distribution of synthetic drugs."
Kraag added that more than 85 people were arrested, including the two alleged leaders of the network, both from Poland, and continued, "I believe this is a strong blow to the criminal groups involved in drug smuggling, specifically synthetic ones."
The Polish police described during a press conference in Warsaw the profits made as "substantial," noting that for every euro spent on drug production, the smugglers make a profit of about 30 euros.
The operation, which lasted a full year, involved police forces from Belgium, the Czech Republic, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, and Spain.
Suspicions about this network began swirling in 2024 when Polish police uncovered a widespread group trading large quantities of legally imported chemicals from China and India.
The Polish police confirmed that "these raw materials are legal and are generally used in the pharmaceutical industry," but they clarified that the quantities obtained and processed were "very large and had no relation to the actual needs of the companies" serving as fronts for trafficking.
Subsequent investigations revealed that these products were being repackaged and their data falsified, then distributed all over Europe to laboratories manufacturing synthetic drugs.
The Polish police displayed footage of the operation showing dozens of barrels and tanks containing the raw materials stored in various warehouses, as well as the processing laboratories raided by armed investigators.
According to Europol, the European police agency headquartered in The Hague, the majority of the individuals arrested were Polish, but it is also believed that Belgian and Dutch citizens are involved in these criminal operations. According to Kraag, this operation is part of a strategy aimed at dismantling the supply chain and eradicating the synthetic drug industry at its roots.
According to Agence France-Presse, "These criminal groups no longer have a source of supplies," and the head of the Polish police, Marek Boron, told Agence France-Presse that the security agencies "continuously update the list of raw materials entering the market" in their efforts to prevent similar smuggling operations in the future,
He added, "We are in the process of identifying the chemicals currently being misused in drug production," and aside from the health risks associated with these drugs, Kraag highlighted issues related to violence, corruption, and money laundering within this criminal environment.
He also noted that the production of synthetic drugs also has a catastrophic environmental impact, with authorities seizing more than 120,000 liters of toxic chemical waste typically dumped by criminals in the countryside or waterways.
Kraag said, "Today, it’s a profit for the criminals, and tomorrow, it will be pollution," and the European police forces have other goals they aim to achieve following this successful operation. Kraag warned that "this smuggling network is one of the largest but it is not the only one, so we continue our investigations."
