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As many as 20 deadly drug cartels from across the world are thought to have come together and devised a plot to flood Europe with mountains of cocaine.
The astounding extent of the smuggling coalition has come to light after Irish commandos raided a 630ft vessel off the coast of Cork on Tuesday (September 26). A total of 2,253kg of cocaine worth an estimated £136million was found – making it the biggest drug seizure in the country's history.
A number of arrests were made in connection with the seizure and a probe was launched to identify those responsible. According to The Irish Sun, the Joint Task Force believes the plot was masterminded in Dubai by the leaders of several international trafficking organisations.
READ MORE: 'Scouse cartel' busted in '£42m cocaine plot' but 'Brit Pablo Escobar' could be at large
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The Irish Examiner reports Colombia's Clan del Golfo – paramilitaries who have grown to become the country's largest cartel – and an Albanian-led consortium are top suspects.
Investigators also suspect Ireland's own Kinahan Cartel had a significant investment in the shipment, according to The Irish Independent. A source close to the investigation told The Irish Sun: "The Kinahan organisation would not have been capable of organising this by themselves due to the recent law enforcement activity around them but they could have provided finance for the enterprise.
"Due to the size of the haul, there could be as many as 20 leading organised crime groups providing the support and finance to facilitate such a huge shipment. The belief that the origins of this enterprise lie in Dubai where many of Europe's most senior organised crime figures are based."
Authorities also expect the emergence of this cocaine coalition could have deadly consequences. Another source told the Irish Independent: "There will unfortunately be ramifications for this, and that means murders. This may not particularly be on Irish streets because European crime groups were also involved, but this will lead to bloodshed."
Assistant Commissioner Justin Kelly told reporters on Wednesday (September 27) that there is an increased amount of cocaine coming out of South America, being readied for the massive European market. Kelly said: "There is an increase in the amount of cocaine available for a number of geopolitical reasons in South America. There is basically a glut of cocaine on the market.
"And when you combine that with the increased consumption across Europe, Europe is now the biggest market for cocaine in the world. So when you combine those two things together, absolutely, it's inevitable that we're going to see organised criminal groups trying to leverage on that, make more money from it, as they always do in situations like this.
"It's inevitable that we'll see more large shipments."
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- Cartels
- Gangs
- Crime
- Drugs
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