An international criminal network that laundered the profits of cocaine for Italian organised crime has been dismantled after investigators traced the money across Europe.
What began as suspicious financial movements constituted a sophisticated money laundering system that served members of the Camorra and the ‘Ndrangheta. Behind shell companies, fake invoices, and luxury investments, millions of euros in cocaine profits were being cleaned and reinvested throughout Europe.
The investigation was led by the French National Gendarmerie, in collaboration with the Italian Carabinieri and the Swiss Federal Office of Police (fedpol). It was supported by the Belgian Judicial Federal Police of Antwerp, the Bulgarian State Agency for National Security, the German Customs and the Ecuadorian National Police, under the coordination of Europol and Eurojust.
As a result of the financial flows, investigators identified a Montenegrin citizen, known as a high-value target of Europol and wanted by several European countries. The suspect had settled in the Cannes area of France, with close relatives, including his Italian son-in-law, known to the Italian authorities for money laundering, fraud, and arms trafficking offences.
The financial investigation revealed that the money laundering network was directly linked to large-scale cocaine trafficking from South America to Europe.
It is suspected that the group coordinates maritime shipments of significant quantities of cocaine to the main ports of Europe. A major seizure by the Belgian customs at the end of 2025 was linked to the Montenegrin suspect, marking a decisive breakthrough in the investigation.
Investigators discovered a highly structured organisation. The network was based on substantial financial capacity, crypto assets, weekly cross-border travel in luxury vehicles with sophisticated concealment compartments, and a corporate network spanning multiple jurisdictions.
In February of this year, the authorities carried out coordinated arrests and searches in France, Italy, Belgium, and Switzerland. Seven suspects have been arrested (four in France, three in Italy), including the high-value Montenegrin target.
In the French Riviera, luxury vehicles were seized, along with high-end properties worth more than 5 million euros. Additional companies and assets were also seized in Switzerland and Italy.
Europol has supported this investigation since 2023, and it quickly became one of the most active operations of the Agency within its European Financial and Economic Crime Centre.
The case deployed the full range of Europol services: advanced criminal and financial analysis, secure real-time communication, and on-the-ground deployments in France and Italy to support national investigators and build a shared operational picture.
In 2024, a Joint Investigation Team (JIT) was established at Eurojust between France, Italy, and Switzerland, allowing for close judicial coordination. Through Europol, other partners (Belgium, Germany, and Ecuador) joined the investigation, expanding its impact.
The @ON Network, funded by the European Commission and led by the Italian Anti-Mafia Investigation Directorate (DIA), provided financial support for operational meetings and the deployment of investigators.
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