An organised crime group suspected of trafficking drugs to Iceland from across Europe and South America has been dismantled by Lithuanian, Spanish and Icelandic authorities, in cooperation with Eurojust and Europol. It is estimated that the group made over EUR 4 million in profits from their illicit activities. A coordinated operation led to the arrest of 24 of its members across five countries.
The group, based in Lithuania and Spain, is suspected of trafficking cocaine, MDMA, methamphetamine and ketamine from South America into Iceland and Lithuania. Once the drugs arrived in Iceland from Spain, the criminal group would distribute them further. They were able to move over 39 kilogrammes of cocaine, 5 100 MDMA tablets and 1 kilogramme of ketamine and methamphetamine. The illicit revenue coming from the drug trafficking was allegedly laundered through real estate and other properties in Lithuania.
The network relied primarily on drug mules, usually people in vulnerable situations who were easily persuaded to transport drugs. Couriers allegedly concealed cocaine in their luggage or smuggled it internally by swallowing drug packages. In some cases, the drugs were transported in liquid form.
Due to the criminal group’s international activities, Lithuanian and Icelandic authorities worked together through a joint investigation team set up at Eurojust. During several coordination meetings at Eurojust and Europol, authorities discovered that the group was present in multiple countries, with suspects identified in Iceland, Lithuania, Denmark, Spain and Belgium.
Europol supported the investigation by facilitating information exchange and providing analytical support, helping national authorities to identify links between suspects and map the network’s structure.
An action day, coordinated at Eurojust’s premises in The Hague, resulted in the dismantling of the drug trafficking group. In total 24 arrests were made across five countries: 11 in Iceland, six in Lithuania, four in Spain, two in Belgium and one in Denmark. During 41 house searches, authorities were able to seize drugs, cannabis plant shredders, money, crypto wallets, mobile phones and other electronic devices.
The actions were carried out by the following authorities:
- Lithuania: Klaipeda Regional PPO; Klaipeda County Police HQ
- Spain: Central Investigative Court nº 3; Antidrug PPO; Anti-drug and organised crime unit of Policia Nacional – UDYCO
- Iceland: Icelandic Police and Customs
Eurojust is an agency of the European Union