Dutch father and his sons behind an international drug network arrested
A 56-year-old Dutch father and his two adult sons, aged 31 and 23, were arrested in Ibiza and the Netherlands for running a major international drug trafficking network linked to drug traffickers from South America, according to Europol's confirmation.
The father was arrested on December 2nd in a luxury villa in Ibiza. The police reported that he sent his children to the Netherlands, where they were arrested at the same time in The Hague and Haarlem.
Europol revealed that the father was in contact with major cocaine traffickers in Colombia and intermediaries, and was regularly traveling across Europe to organize large cocaine shipments with his sons to the continent.
The investigation began after authorities intercepted communications via the encrypted phone service Sky ECC, which is used by many major criminals. Dutch and Spanish authorities and Europol discovered attempts to coordinate new shipments.
Authorities linked the family network to six cocaine shipments intercepted in the United Kingdom, Spain, and the Netherlands. The arrests represent a significant blow to international drug trafficking in Europe.