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CRIME

Spain seizes record haul of ‘synthetic khat’ narcotic

Spain's Guardia Civil police said Wednesday they had made Europe's biggest seizure of substances derived from the khat plant, confiscating more than 3.2 tonnes of synthetic cathinones at Barcelona port.

Published: 8 June 2022 16:42 CEST
Spain seizes record haul of 'synthetic khat' narcotic
Images released by the police showed dozens of blue plastic drums used to transport the crystal-like substance, which commonly goes by the name "bath salts". Photo: Guardia Civil

The product is a derivative of a stimulant found in the leaves of the khat plant, which is native to the Horn of Africa and the Arabian Peninsula.

“The Guardia Civil has seized the biggest quantity of synthetic cathinones found in Europe to date”, a police statement said.

“They seized a total of 3.2 tonnes of this substance, which on the market would fetch €61 million ($65 million)”, it added.

Images released by the police showed dozens of blue plastic drums used to transport the crystal-like substance, which commonly goes by the name “bath salts”.

Khat, or qat, is a mildly narcotic leaf which is packed into the cheek and slowly chewed, releasing chemicals similar to amphetamines and resulting in a mild high.

It is very popular in Yemen and Horn of Africa countries like Ethiopia and Somalia.

Its synthetic variants, however, are “more potent than the natural compound and much more dangerous,” the Guardia Civil warned.

The investigation began at the start of the year after an operation in France uncovered a possible storage location at Barcelona port, where the drugs were shipped out to other countries in Europe.

By falsifying customs certificates and working through three companies, the international ring running the operation was able to move a large quantity of the product, police said.

For now, only one person has been arrested and police are hunting for others involved.

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CRIME

Europol bust cocaine gang with arrests in Marbella and Canary Islands

Europol said Thursday that a crime ring smuggling drugs into Europe had collapsed as the result of an investigation involving 40 arrests and the seizure of eight tonnes of cocaine.

Published: 13 June 2024 14:52 CEST
Europol bust cocaine gang with arrests in Marbella and Canary Islands

The Hague-based European police force said the entire cartel, whose leaders were based in Turkey and Dubai, had been dealt a major blow after a final set of arrests Wednesday.

The vast three-year-long operation involved police forces from a dozen countries and ranged from Brazil to Spain via Turkey.

According to Europol, the final phase of the operation began with the discovery in August 2023 by the Spanish Guardia Civil of 700 kilos (1,540 pounds)of cocaine in a boat off the Canary Islands, crewed by Croat and Italian citizens.

After exchanging their findings with other police forces, the investigators found links with previous seizures which led to the identification of the masterminds.

In all, 40 people were arrested in six countries, including two top Croat members of the network, who were arrested at the end of 2023 in Istanbul, police said.

The last four arrests took place on Wednesday in Spain, according to Europol.

In one operation witnessed by an AFP journalist, heavily armed members of Spain’s Guardia Civil arrested a 40-year-old man at dawn at his home near Marbella, a seaside resort popular with drug traffickers.

The smugglers shipped cocaine from South America to logistical hubs in west Africa and the Canary Islands.

The drugs were then sent on to centres in Belgium, Croatia, Germany, Italy and Spain for distribution across Europe.

Many of the drug network’s assets, with a total value of several tens of millions of euros, had been seized or frozen, Europol added.

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