Europol
International · Police · 27 reports
- People arrested
- 1,115
- Plants destroyed
- 46,670
- Cannabis seized
- 197.079 t
Totals of what these reports state; a report counts when a source it cites names the agency.
Czech fugitive wanted over cannabis grow network; 12-year sentence
Czech national Oskar Benes was sentenced to 12 years in prison for organising a network of cannabis nurseries and marijuana distribution, including shipments abroad. He escaped custody in Portugal in 2023 and remains on Europol's most-wanted list.
Prison 12 years14 suspects held in Finland case with 4 kg marijuana distributed
Finnish Customs suspects an international group of importing over 170 kg of cocaine to Finland and distributing 92 kg of cocaine and 4 kg of marijuana. Fourteen people are suspects with 12 still in custody as the investigation goes to prosecutors in November 2026.
Arrested 1442 detained in Istanbul-led crackdown on 10-tonne drug network
Turkish police detained 42 suspects on 13 October 2026 in an Istanbul-centred operation across 13 provinces against an international network tied to 10.1 tonnes of heroin, cannabis and cocaine, seizing assets worth 7.65 billion liras.
Arrested 4234 held in Slovenia as Balkan network's 3 tonnes of cannabis uncovered
Slovenian police with Europol and 22 forces ended a four-year probe on 6 October 2026, arresting 34 suspects in Slovenia plus two abroad and seizing over three tonnes of cannabis within a multi-drug haul; a Ljubljana court remanded 13 in custody.
Arrested 34Cannabis 3 t490 arrested as ATLAS NEXUS seizes 118.6 tonnes of cannabis
Operation ATLAS NEXUS, led by Belgium's Federal Police and co-coordinated by Frontex, EMPACT and CARICOM IMPACS across 34 countries, ended with more than 490 arrests and the seizure of 118.6 tonnes of cannabis among 156.9 tonnes of drugs. National operations included a record 104.96 tonnes of cannabis in Paraguay and 3.2 tonnes in Costa Rica.
Arrested 490Cannabis 118.6 tPolish border guards seize 1.2 tonnes of cannabis hidden in Thai bricks
Polish and German authorities seized 1,194 kg of cannabis hidden inside laterite bricks shipped from Thailand through Hamburg to Poland. Eight people were detained in Szczecin and near Poznań; prosecutors estimate the haul's street value at PLN 48 million.
Arrested 8Cannabis 1.194 tTen arrested as parcel-post cannabis ring supplying France is dismantled
French and Spanish police arrested 10 suspects and searched 24 premises in a Eurojust-coordinated action week, breaking a ring that moved about 1.4 tonnes of cannabis from Barcelona to Rennes by post since 2024. Cash, drugs, guns and cars were seized; the network's assets are put at €4 million.
Arrested 1012 arrested in Montenegro-Germany Balkan Cartel raid tied to 1.5t cannabis
Police arrested 12 suspects in Montenegro and Germany on 15 April 2026, including a high-value Balkan Cartel target held in Montenegro. Montenegrin prosecutors linked the network to 1.5 tonnes of cannabis and 2.7 tonnes of cocaine seized in 12 earlier operations and filed complaints against 10 people.
Arrested 12Charged 10Cannabis 1.5 tGuns-for-cannabis network hit with 587 kg of marijuana seized
On 23 March 2026 police in Spain, Bulgaria and Greece arrested 21 suspects in a Europol-backed action against a network that traded Balkan and Turkish firearms for cannabis; Spanish forces seized 587.56 kg of marijuana and 76.54 kg of hashish, with 18 arrests in Spain including 14 in Catalonia.
Arrested 21Cannabis 587.56 kg47 kg of cannabis seized in Europol-backed raid on a synthetic drug network
Europol-backed searches in Ukraine, Poland and Moldova from 12 to 17 February 2026 dismantled 36 production sites and 74 stores and detained 103 people, mostly over synthetic cathinones. Ukraine's National Police said officers also seized 47 kg of cannabis among the other drugs.
Arrested 97Charged 123Cannabis 47 kgBarcelona–Catania: 12 arrested and 1,670 cannabis plants seized in joint raid
On 10 February 2026, Spanish and Italian police coordinated by Eurojust arrested twelve people and seized 1,670 cannabis plants from indoor farms in Barcelona and Catania, plus firearms, cash and assets worth about one million euros; two suspects entered pretrial detention in Spain.
Arrested 12Plants destroyed 1,670Police dismantle Ukrainian-drone hashish airlift into Spain
Spain's National Police arrested ten people in Algeciras and Marbella on 28 November 2024, breaking up a network that flew hashish from Morocco with Ukrainian-built drones. Each drone carried about 10 kg per flight, and police say the ring moved about 1,000 kg this way.
Arrested 10Turkish-led network raided in Spain; over two tonnes of marijuana seized
More than 400 French, Spanish and Turkish officers searched 28 sites in Granada, Malaga and Seville on 11 and 12 June 2024, seizing over two tonnes of marijuana and capturing the Turkish fugitive accused of leading a cannabis and heroin trafficking network.
Cannabis 2 tFugitive arrested at Jahorina; 12 g hashish seized
Police arrested fugitive Mladen Samardžija at Jahorina in operation Tokyo on a Slovenian international warrant for drug trafficking. Searches seized 12 grams of hashish alongside a kilogram of cocaine, cash, weapons and cars.
Arrested 1Cannabis 12 gEuropol action day in Italy and Spain; 78 held over cannabis network
A Europol-backed action day on 17 October led to 78 arrests and 104 searches in Italy and Spain against a network behind several tonnes of cannabis trafficked into the EU. Officers seized about 350 kg of cannabis plus weapons and assets worth 845,000 euros; money-laundering inquiries continue.
Arrested 78Cannabis 360 kgTen held as Guadix hashish and cannabis network is dismantled
Customs and Guardia Civil officers have dismantled a Guadix-based network that hid hashish and cannabis in wool bales, livestock trucks and scrap consignments bound for central Europe, arresting ten people. The operation seized 1,147 kg of hashish and 755 kg of cannabis and froze bank accounts, homes and vehicles.
Arrested 10Cannabis 1.902 t38 arrested over three years as Bosnia-Europol network broken up
Bosnian police arrested six people on 19 June 2023 in the eighth action day of a three-year operation against a network trafficking drugs and weapons and laundering money, bringing the total held to 38. Europol said the operation's seizures included more than 300 kg of cannabis, plus property and cash worth over 6 million euros.
Arrested 38Cannabis 300 kg107 arrested as Europol-backed raids uncover 51 cannabis farms in Spain
About 400 officers raided 42 locations across eastern Spain on 13 July 2021, arresting 107 people and uncovering 51 cannabis farms run by an Albanian-led clan. The Europol-supported operation seized 25,000 plants and almost a tonne of cannabis grown indoors on stolen electricity.
Arrested 107Plants destroyed 25,000Cannabis 938 kg20 arrested and 20,000 plants seized in Valencia raids
Spain's Civil Guard arrested 20 suspects and seized 20,000 cannabis plants, a ton of buds, 300,000 euros and vehicles in Valencia as part of Operation Mocy, a Europe-wide crackdown announced in January 2021. Investigators said a Bulgarian-led network moved marijuana from Andalusia to Poland under Europol and Eurojust coordination.
Arrested 20Plants destroyed 20,000Cannabis 1 tGuardia Civil raids Los Pinchos network, seizing 8 tonnes of cannabis
Spain's Guardia Civil with Europol broke up the Los Pinchos cannabis-smuggling network on 7 July 2020, detaining 64 people in raids on eight locations and seizing 8,000 kilos of cannabis, six boats and sixteen vehicles. The group moved three to six tonnes a month from Morocco by speedboat and laundered the profits through property.
Arrested 64Cannabis 8 t9 arrested as 150 kg marijuana seized in Rijeka port operation
Croatian-led Operation NANA seized 150 kg of marijuana and over 100 kg of cocaine from a scrap-metal container at Rijeka port on 8 March 2018. Nine suspects were arrested across four European countries in the joint action against the Balkan cartel network.
Arrested 9Cannabis 150 kgPortugal seizes 10 tonnes of hashish in Strait of Gibraltar, six held
Portugal's Judicial Police seized nearly 10 tonnes of hashish from a Dutch-flagged former fishing boat intercepted off the Strait of Gibraltar and brought to Portimao. Six men aged 20 to 61 were arrested.
Arrested 6Cannabis 10 t20.5 tonnes of hashish seized from cargo ship Jupiter in Cagliari
Italian finance police found 821 packages of hashish weighing 20.5 tonnes hidden in a ballast tank of the Cook Islands-flagged cargo ship Jupiter after escorting it to Cagliari, Sardinia. Ten Syrian crew were arrested in the joint operation with France, Spain and Europol.
Arrested 10Cannabis 20.5 t15.7 tonnes of hashish seized from Just Reema off Málaga
Spanish authorities boarded the merchant vessel Just Reema 45 miles south of Málaga and found about 15.7 tonnes of hashish resin hidden in a double bottom. All nine crew members were arrested in the joint Operation Urca.
Arrested 9Cannabis 15.7 tFive arrested as police seize 2.6 tonnes of hashish bound for northern Europe
Spanish police arrested five suspects on 6 February 2013 as they loaded 88 bundles of hashish, about 2.6 tonnes, onto a German-registered trailer in a warehouse between Murcia and Almería, breaking up an Almería-based network feeding northern Europe. A sixth suspect escaped; German, Norwegian and Europol investigators were part of the wider operation.
Arrested 5Cannabis 2.6 tEight tonnes of cannabis seized from British trawler Squilla; seven arrested
Spanish and British police stopped the British-registered fishing boat Squilla in the Atlantic off western Spain on 5 June 2005 and found eight tonnes of cannabis worth an estimated 24 million pounds and believed bound for Scotland. Four crew members were arrested on board and three more people were detained in Glasgow and Perth.
Arrested 7Cannabis 8 tBriton held over 700 kg of hashish hidden in battery shipments
Anti-drug officers arrested 29-year-old Briton Joseph Henry B. in early 2003 for allegedly shipping hashish to England hidden in the bottom of containers of high-voltage batteries; they intercepted one shipment with 700 kilos and seized two stolen vehicles used to move the drugs from Morocco.
Arrested 1Cannabis 700 kg