BRUSSLES: Thirty-six people were arrested earlier this week in France and abroad in an ongoing operation to dismantle a money laundering ring related to drug dealing.
Police in Marseilles and Paris seized €2.5 million as well as seven kilos of gold and 10 kgs of cocaine in the operation.
A source close to the investigation told the French news agency, AFP, that this was one of the biggest drug-related money laundering operations in Europe and involved some €50 million.
The arrests took place in Paris, Marseille, the Netherlands and Belgium with the majority of those arrested holding French nationality. The arrests targeted money collectors for the lucrative drug trade, most of it from cannabis.
Those that were arrested are being detained in Paris. Not all of them are directly linked to the distribution of drugs, but are responsible for placing the drug money in offshore accounts in tax havens.
