Europe raids net 200 arrests and drugs haul

AFP | Istanbul

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Police staged “unprecedented” raids against four organised crime groups yesterday, arresting more than 200 people in five European countries, primarily in Turkey, in a “massive blow” against drug-trafficking networks, officials said.

Alongside the arrests, officers in Operation “Bulut” (“Cloud” in Turkish) seized more than 21 tonnes of drugs, including 3.3 million MDMA tablets, said EU police agency Europol, which coordinated the sting.

“This was one of the biggest strikes against organised crime groups in recent years,” Andy Kraag, head of Europol’s European Serious Organised Crime Centre, told AFP in an interview. Images of the raids s h owe d a r m e d p o l i c e storming into properties, apprehending suspects and pinning them to the floor before handcuffing them.