Europol Seize $26 Million in Crypto From 9 Drug Traffickers

Europol collaborated with law enforcement authorities from six countries to bring down an international drug trafficking ring employing crypto for its financial needs.

Europol said it has taken down “underground bankers who were moving and laundering the proceeds of large-scale drug trafficking and other serious crimes” in a recent announcement.

When contacted by Decrypt, Europol explained that it is “not authorised to disclose any more details.”

The action is the culmination of two investigations and led to the arrest of nine suspects. It led to the seizure of valuables, including gold and luxury goods, €35,000 in cash and €25 million in cryptocurrencies, equivalent to $26.23 million. The total value of the assets seized is €27 million, equivalent to $28.33 million.

Byron Boston, former United States Dallas police officer and CEO of crypto tracking firm Crypto Track, told Decrypt that crypto crime poses a very diverse set of challenges to law enforcement.

“Blockchain technology operates on principles that are vastly different from conventional financial systems, requiring a deep understanding of decentralized networks, cryptographic algorithms, and public ledgers," he said.

In this case, European authorities seized cash during a house search in connection with an investigation into cocaine trafficking in 2021. Investigators uncovered handwritten inscriptions on five euro banknotes, providing information on who coordinated and facilitated the financial aspects of the operations.

Spanish law enforcement provided the information to Europol, which cross-checked it against data gathered in other cases. This led to the identification of a British suspect as the coordinator of the shadow banking service. The suspect allegedly had ties to a criminal network based in southern Spain under the supervision of Dubai-based operators.

Further investigation into individuals connected with the suspect led to a coordinated enforcement action on 4 November 2024 in Malaga, Spain, with the participation of Belgian, Bulgarian, Dutch, and United States law enforcement authorities. Per the announcement, authorities uncovered multiple “financial networks offering ‘crime as a service’” that were “predominantly controlled from the United Arab Emirates.”

Boston highlighted that such coordinated efforts are made harder by “the lack of standardized training for investigators in cryptocurrency crimes” and “anonymity or pseudonymity associated with” crypto transactions. Transitioning to the crypto tracking industry, required him “not only acquiring new technical expertise but also fostering partnerships with tech companies and regulatory agencies to bridge the knowledge gap.”

The announcement follows recent reports that the United Kingdom National Crime Agency disrupted Russian money laundering operations involving cryptocurrencies. A set of court cases examined in late November also revealed that money laundering organizations connected to United States cocaine imports from Mexico and Colombia use Tether (USDT) on a particularly large scale.

Edited by Stacy Elliott.