Brazilian and Italian authorities announced that they had launched two joint operations Tuesday to dismantle a transnational conspiracy to transport cocaine using cargo ships or planes from South America to Europe.

In Brazil, 18 arrest warrants were issued and in Spain one for suspected members of criminal organizations linked to international drug trafficking.

Five people were arrested in Italy according to a police statement.

Sources directly involved in the Brazilian operation said that the main target is still at large while the 17 other suspects in Brazil have been arrested.

Twelve properties were blocked for the main target. Investigators had indicated that it had links to Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC), one of Brazil's biggest crime gangs.

Authorities in Brazil are also carrying out 46 search warrants and seizing property at locations across seven states. According to the source involved with the operation, the authorities attempted to freeze assets for 36 individuals and 43 companies.

According to the Brazilian prosecutor's office and a source familiar with the case, the plot involves a partnership of Primeiro Comando da Capital, Italy's largest mafia organization, the Ndrangheta.

The Brazilian Federal Police and the Prosecutor General's Office allege that this criminal organization operated a complex network of money laundering which, according estimates, conducted financial transactions worth more than 2 billion Reis ($330.4 Million) between 2018-2022.

Following requests by prosecutors from both countries, Brazilian and Italian courts have ordered the freezing of assets and seizure real estate worth 126,000,000 reais.

Investigations show that the criminal group used the Brazilian shipping infrastructure to transport large amounts of cocaine into Europe via the southern port of Paranagua.

The drugs were concealed in containers containing ceramics, wood or sanitary ware and were headed primarily for the port in Valencia in Spain.

Authorities report that some cocaine was also transported by private aircraft into airports in Belgium. According to investigations, the criminal network had the goods where drugs were hidden removed prior to airport inspections.

(source: Reuters)