LISBON —Two major Europol-backed operations in Spain and Portugal reveal how traffickers are exploiting global trade routes, concealing cocaine in cowhides and fishing vessels, and laundering profits through complex networks underscoring Europe’s growing struggle against record levels of cocaine entering its markets.
A New Front in Europe’s Drug War
In early September, Portuguese and Spanish authorities, supported by Europol and international partners, carried out back-to-back operations that struck at the heart of two global cocaine trafficking networks. Together, the investigations disrupted smuggling pipelines that stretched from Latin America to European ports, seizing over two tonnes of cocaine and arresting more than 50 suspects.
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The operations mark a significant escalation in Europe’s battle with cocaine traffickers at a time when production in Latin America has reached unprecedented levels and wholesale prices in Europe are at historic lows. Europol officials warn that the falling price reflects an oversaturated market, emboldening criminal groups to adopt increasingly sophisticated methods of concealment and transport.
Cowhides and Concealment: The First Operation
On September 3, Portuguese Judiciary Police and Spain’s Guardia Civil, working alongside the U.S. DEA and Dominican authorities, arrested 12 suspects accused of smuggling cocaine hidden inside cowhides. Investigators revealed that traffickers had dispatched dozens of containers disguised as legitimate agricultural shipments, bypassing port scanners and even drug-detecting dogs.
The concealment was so elaborate that the cocaine could only be located by dismantling entire shipments. Earlier phases of the operation, conducted in June and July, had already led to seven arrests, with suspects hailing from Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Portugal, and Spain.
In total, the operation yielded 2,232 kilograms of cocaine, €150,000 in cash, and luxury vehicles, alongside digital records that investigators believe may expose a wider transatlantic supply chain.
A High-Value Target and Violent Rivalries
Just a week later, on September 10, Europol supported Spanish Customs and Guardia Civil in a second operation targeting another criminal network, this one notorious for violence and extortion. Authorities arrested 37 suspects — including a high-value target described as the group’s mastermind and dismantled a cocaine-cutting laboratory.
The Spanish leader allegedly provided logistical support to other South American traffickers, laundering proceeds through fishing-related companies and extensive real estate holdings. Assets worth millions were frozen: 26 vehicles, 56 properties, five vessels, and 200 bank accounts, along with €600,000 in cash. Firearms, knives, and fake weapons were also seized.
This investigation had already delivered a major blow in November 2024, when six traffickers were caught aboard a fishing vessel carrying 1.5 tonnes of cocaine bound for Spain. The combined seizures from both phases now exceed 2.2 tonnes.
Europol’s Combined Strategy
Both operations highlight the adaptability of criminal networks — from embedding cocaine into raw materials like cowhides to disguising smuggling operations as fishing ventures. Europol’s response has been to coordinate multi-country investigations under EMPACT, the EU’s platform against organized crime, combining tactical seizures with long-term targeting of the networks behind them.
“The fight against drug trafficking is no longer just about intercepting shipments,” Europol said in a statement. “It requires dismantling the infrastructure of these groups their logistics, their money laundering systems, their violent enforcers.”