A billion dollar empire — now that's something befitting their title: the Lords of Cocaine
Moving with ease around the globe, cutting deals exceeding the GDP of entire countries, nestled
beyond reach of those chasing them. They're big fish, but the biggest fish make the biggest targets
And last week the power of five nations on two continents rose to meet their challenge
The Mob Reporter here with news of a group of major high-value targets
accused of moving audaciously large loads with astonishing frequency
flooding Europe with South American coke. But they made a crucial mistake; they shared photos
of dirty deeds along the way, thinking it was done in secret — but it wasn't. Let me tell you about it
This supercartel had all the parts in place. They had their source, transatlantic logistics,
pickup and delivery all sorted, involving crooked businessmen in South America and corrupt dock
workers in European ports. Their prowess led Europol, the joint European police agency, to dub
them the "cocaine lords." These are world-class narcos, capable of moving a lot of weight
How much? Well here are just the shipments that I know of, and it's improbable I know of them
all. January 2020, 1.4 tons of coke from Bolivia was first hauled to Paraguay, prepared for shipping and
sent to Brazil, where it was hidden on a container ship sailing for Antwerp in Belgium. August 2020,
2.6 tons were shipped to the port of Hamburg in Germany. Also in August, another ship with 2.6 tons
board arrived in Antwerp. February 2021, it was back to landing in Hamburg, but the load was much
bigger now, 16 tons. I think they were gaining confidence, because the same month 7.7 tons
sailed from Panama into Antwerp, and in April 2021, authorities found 11 tons hidden in another ship
arriving in Antwerp. In total that's more than 41 tons, an astounding amount
But as smooth as they were, they made a huge mistake. It may have seemed a good
idea at the time, but some members of their operation used an encrypted phone system
called Sky ECC, an innovative Canadian company's covert phones catering to criminals — but it was
hacked by police in March 2021. With the gangland phone network exposed, police had a back door
allowing them to trace large shipments being arranged in supposed secrecy, and to discover
seemingly legitimate companies trying to mask the global movement of product and money. Many
were traced to the Lords. That allowed police to start picking off their shipments. Cops in several
countries discovered they were all chasing the same organization, and found it was organized by
expats from a command and control center in Dubai, on the Persian gulf. The first coordinated strike
against the Lords was in February 2022. I told you details of that in a video that I'll link to below
That hit the South American end hard, primarily in Brazil and Paraguay. Some high-value targets were
pinched, including a racehorse entrepreneur and the owner of a military-style armored car company
Police next went after the European end. In March, the Lord's network in Southern Europe was hit
and now they've hit their north flank. On April 20th, 2022, police launched coordinated raids. There
were searches and arrests in Paraguay, Germany, Spain, Netherlands, Belgium and even in Dubai
Dozens of homes and businesses were searched and at least 20 people were arrested. There
were 11 arrested in Germany, five in Belgium, three in the Netherlands and one in Spain
They range in age from 26 to 57. Several of them have previously served long prison terms
A lot of documents and electronic equipment was seized, along with vehicles, luxury watches
real estate, bank accounts, and cash worth more than $6 million US dollars
And at least one gun. Police say the coke arriving in both Germany and Belgium were destined for
a distribution center in the Netherlands and a man there was previously arrested for that role
Most surprising, though. is word from a German investigator that one of the heads of the
operation, who was described as quote "the main actor" unquote, was arrested in Dubai
That's not easy since Dubai doesn't have formal extradition treaties with European Union countries
German police say a 39-year-old German citizen, a native of Hanover, was arrested by Dubai police
and United Arab Emirates federal narcotics agents. He is currently in custody there while
people come up with an extradition plan. If that works out for police, it'll be one down more to go
In Paraguay, more than a thousand cops, agents and prosecutors searched businesses and homes of
those suspected of assembling the shipments. Police called it Operation North Atlantic
One of the loads to Germany had the coke stuffed inside tins containing
Fox acrylic paint. One to Antwerp was filled with wood to hide the bricks
The focus of the Paraguayan probe is Diego Benítez, 38, a wealthy businessman who sat
on the board of directors for Club Olympia, a top-flight soccer team in Paraguay's capital
A company linked to Benítez produced the paints. His property was a focus of raids in the February
operation, too. In coordination with European authorities, police there searched his businesses
and homes, including his ex-wife's place — I'm sure she appreciated that. But he is out of arms reached
from her, and from police, as a fugitive, whereabouts technically unknown. I suspect he wants to stay
that way. It seems someone who was doctoring up the paint cans before their export sent clear
photos of the process, presumably using the Sky ECC system, thinking it was privately and secretly sent
to their colleagues in Europe, likely as proof but perhaps to show off. Compare these photos
Here, allegedly, are tins being stuffed with bricks in Paraguay before being shipped out to Europe
And here are the tins seized by police in Germany. So the cops knew ahead of time exactly what
they were looking for at Europe's northern ports. Paraguayan reports say Benítez's paint warehouse
underwent extensive remodeling and renovation soon after the huge load was discovered in Hamburg
That will explain why police are seen tearing up the walls and the ceiling of the place
I think they're looking to match the premises to the background seen in the photos
Officers also seized 117 drums of liquid which are being analyzed, authorities said
And a lot of documentation, both paper and digital. The Coke Lords must be going crazy
The cops know and they know the cops know. Their numbers, assets and turf are being diminished. For
them, the heat in Dubai isn't just from the sun and the sand. Check out my exclusive bonus content
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