By Giovanni Legorano
ROME (AA) – Italian and Spanish authorities have dismantled a large criminal ring accused of cannabis and hashish trafficking into Europe, Europol said on Thursday.
The large-scale law enforcement operation led to the arrest of 78 people accused of being linked to more than six tons of intercepted shipments of cannabis and hashish into the EU over the past years.
Europol said that 58 of the arrested people were caught in Italy, while the remaining 20 in Spain. The specific operation also involved 25 house searches as well as the seizure of 350 kilograms (772 pounds) of hashish, 33 kg (73 Ibs) of marijuana, weapons, electronic equipment, documents, and assets worth €845,000 ($885,618).
The criminal network had already taken a hit in November 2022, when Europol supported a coordinated action leading to the arrest of 36 suspects of Albanian, Italian and Spanish nationals in Italy, said the EU’s law enforcement agency.
Between 2019 and 2021, Italian and Spanish authorities seized more than six tons of cannabis and hashish as well as refills for cannabinoid-based electronic cigarettes.
The suspects used encrypted communication platforms Sky ECC and Encrochat to coordinate the logistics behind the trafficking operations.
Europol added that Moroccan nationals based in Spain arranged the drug deliveries to Spain and their subsequent shipment to different distributors in Italy.
“Various actors facilitated the overall supply and logistical process of the network: from cannabis collection, storage, transportation and distribution to payment and money laundering activities,” it said.
The payments for the drug shipments were arranged via an informal banking system similar to hawala known as fei-ch’ien, an underground banking system run mainly by Chinese nationals, which allows the transfer of cash from one country to another through a network of trusted offices.