An international drug bank was busted. Detentions in several countries

The services referred to the destroyed structure as a "narcobank". It was supposed to finance cocaine shipments, organize international money flows outside the formal banking system, use cryptocurrencies for settlements and offer money laundering services - describes Reuters.

Fourteen people were detained in Spain. The remaining seven – in the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, the Netherlands and Sweden. Another 12 suspects are still at large.

The investigation supported by Europol detained, among others: a person described by the agency as an "underground banker".

Encarna Ortega, head of the inspectorate for combating money laundering, emphasized that the network's activities were crucial for organizing drug smuggling.

Without this funding, these shipments would not be able to move from one country to another. Drug trafficking on such a scale would not be possible, she told reporters.

The beginning of the investigation is related to the seizure of 1.84 tons of cocaine on board the Nehir ship in 2021. According to police, the vessel was later deliberately sunk in the northern Spanish port of Gijón to hide another batch - 1.65 tons of the drug.

During the operations, officers seized 121 bank accounts with a total amount of EUR 2.3 million, 48 properties valued at over EUR 14 million and luxury cars worth more than EUR 1.6 million. Other items belonging to the suspects were also seized.