Europol said the seized chemicals were enough to produce more than 330 tons of drugs including MDMA, amphetamine and cathinone. Photo courtesy of Europol
European police announced Wednesday they dismantled 24 industrial-scale labs as part of a yearlong multi-country drug investigation.
The Europol bust — known as Operation Fabryka — took place Friday in Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and Poland.
It was the result of a yearlong investigation of imports of chemicals used in synthetic drug labs. It also involved law enforcement from the Czech Republic and Spain.
Over the course of the operation, authorities arrested 85 people — 20 on Friday — searched 100 locations, dismantled 24 industrial-scale laboratories, and seized real estate worth about $14.6 million, more than 1,100 tons of chemical precursors to produce synthetic drugs as well as large quantities of toxic chemical waste, marijuana plants and other illicit drugs.
The imported chemicals were enough to produce more than 330 tons of drugs including MDMA, amphetamine and cathinone.
“The illegal activities are estimated to generate billions in criminal profits for the involved criminal networks,” a release from Europol said. “The criminal assets flow into the legal economy, creating significant risks of market distortion, unfair competition and the systematic infiltration of legitimate businesses by organized crime.”
Europol said the criminal network responsible for the operation was predominantly Polish with some Belgian and Dutch nationals.
