From the Guardian · · 2m
Latin American cartels expand into 16 European countries
A four-month Guardian investigation reveals cocaine seizures in Europe have surged fivefold in a decade as criminal networks from the region establish operations across the continent.
In brief
A four-month Guardian investigation reveals cocaine seizures in Europe have surged fivefold in a decade as criminal networks from the region establish operations across the continent. Latin American criminal networks are now operating across at least 12 European countries, with cocaine seizures up 471 percent since…
Guardian investigation uncovers cartel expansion
A four month Guardian investigation using databases, police records and interviews with judges and prosecutors from eight countries reveals Latin American criminal networks are now active in at least twelve European countries.
Cocaine seizures surge 471 percent in a decade
Between two thousand fourteen and two thousand twenty four, the quantity of cocaine seized in Europe rose four hundred seventy one percent, while more local laboratories processing cocaine derivatives were dismantled.
Which cartels are operating in Europe
The identified groups include Mexico's Sinaloa cartel and Jalisco New Generation cartel, Colombia's Clan del Golfo and ELN, Brazil's Primeiro Comando da Capital and Comando Vermelho, Venezuela's Tren de Aragua, and the US originated Barrio…
Cartels establish presence in major European hubs
These organisations have built a more prominent presence in Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, Belgium and France, while their activities have also been noted in Germany, Romania, Croatia and Slovakia.
Expansion into unexpected European territories
Daniel Brombacher, director of the Europe Observatory at the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime, says recent police operations have uncovered Mexican run methamphetamine labs in southern France, north eastern Poland and Brandenburg south of…
“This phenomenon is no longer limited to the traditional gateway countries.”
Brazil's PCC operates in 16 European countries
An unpublished report by the São Paulo public prosecutor's office shows that the Primeiro Comando da Capital, Brazil's biggest criminal group, operates in sixteen European countries including the UK, Ireland, Iceland, Serbia, Sweden, Switzerland and…
Latin American cocaine production reaches record levels
Drug production in Latin America has increased roughly fourfold to reach a record of about four thousand one hundred tonnes in two thousand twenty four.
Europe becomes more profitable market than US
Europe has emerged as a key market because it offers organisations higher profit margins than the US.
Europol identifies scale of Latin American presence
Europol reports that out of seven hundred thirty one most threatening criminal networks operating across Europe, one hundred forty nine are connected to Latin American organisations.
The headline
Latin American criminal networks are now operating across at least 12 European countries, with cocaine seizures up 471 percent since 2014, marking a significant shift in global drug trafficking patterns.
