A joint action day coordinated from Eurojust’s headquarters has led to the arrest of 13 suspects from a Scottish organised crime group. The group is suspected of running a prolific criminal network involved in the transport of large quantities of drugs, including hundreds of kilograms of cocaine, into Scotland. Thanks to close cooperation by UK and Spanish authorities, coordinated by Eurojust, five suspects were arrested in Spain and a further eight in the United Kingdom.
The organised criminal network, believed to be operating in both Scotland and Spain, is known to use violence to protect its interests. It is also suspected of international drug trafficking, maintaining control over parts of the United Kingdom with senior figures operating from Spain and the United Arab Emirates. From the profits of the drug trafficking, an international money laundering network was established involving several million euros feeding back into their criminal enterprise.
Judicial cooperation between the national authorities began in May 2024 at Eurojust, with the support of Europol. Authorities met several times over the two years to comb through large datasets to coordinate the investigations that led to today’s arrests.
Europol provided continuous operational support throughout the investigation, including advanced analytical work, cross-checks against its databases, and the facilitation of secure information exchange between the countries involved. On the action day, Europol deployed to Spain and Scotland to ensure real-time coordination with the countries involved.
The actions were carried out by the following authorities:
- United Kingdom: Police Service of Scotland; Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service
- Spain: Court of Instruction No. 7 of Malaga; Special Anti-Drug Prosecutor's Office, Málaga, Guardia Civil
Eurojust is an agency of the European Union