An worldwide drug trafficking network has been busted, and cocaine worth billions of dollars has been seized, according to Europol.
Investigators detained 15 people while seizing 17 tonnes of the stimulant substance and valuables worth approximately $87 million.
According to Europol, the ring, one of the busiest trafficking organisations in Brazil, has flooded Europe with massive shipments of cocaine.
The group claimed that all of the gang's members, including its Paraguayan suppliers, shipping companies, and money launderers who handled the revenues, were killed.
Investigators conducted 37 searches, seized 173 vehicles, took possession of one aircraft, barred 66 businesses, froze the accounts of 147 individuals, and searched 37 places.
In the "Operation Hinterland" investigation, the Spanish government seized the assets of accused gang members.
The two-year operation, according to the European police organisation, was conducted from two Brazilian command centres with the assistance of police in France and Spain.
German Customs provided the tip after seizing 316 kilogrammes of cocaine in the port of Hamburg in December 2020, which sparked the investigation.
Investigators discovered the routes used to smuggle cocaine from Paraguay in trucks before exporting it to Europe after receiving information that a Brazilian corporation was responsible for the cargo.