A “super-cartel” that controlled one-third of the cocaine trade in Europe has been taken down in six countries, police have said. The EU police agency, Europol, announced that 49 suspects were arrested during the investigation, after raids in Europe and the United Arab Emirates targeting the cartel’s “command and control centre” and logistics network. One of the suspects is a British national, who is thought to have led the cartel. The British suspect is described as having links to the Costa del Sol. He left Spain after an attempted kidnapping plot against him and fled to Dubai, where he continued to run the drugs operation, according to a statement from Spain’s Guardia Civil. A Europol source told the AFP news agency that one of the Dutch suspects was an “extremely big fish”. A total of 14 arrests were made in the Netherlands in 2021, while two “high-value” Dutch suspects were arrested in Dubai. The Dutch suspects are allegedly linked to Ridouan Taghi, who was arrested in 2019 and is now on trial in the Netherlands, where he faces charges of murder and running an Amsterdam-based cocaine-smuggling group. When Taghi was arrested in Dubai nearly three years ago, he was described as being “one of the world’s most dangerous and wanted men”. The Dutch investigative reporter Peter R de Vries, who was shot dead on the streets of Amsterdam in 2021, was said to be on his death list – something Taghi has denied. Spanish authorities say the supplier of the drug was a Panamanian citizen also based in Dubai. Under the codename Desert Light, police carried out joint raids in several European countries and the UAE between 8 and 19 November with the aim of dismantling the cartel. The arrests followed parallel investigations in Spain, France, Belgium, the Netherlands and the UAE, coordinated by Europol, into what the EU agency called “a prolific criminal network” involved in large-scale drug trafficking and money laundering. Police from the UK, US and Bulgaria were also involved. Over 30 tonnes of cocaine were seized, which police think could account for one-third of the total trade in Europe. Ten people were arrested in Belgium, six in France and 13 in Spain, as well as 14 in the Netherlands in 2021. A total of six “high-value” suspects were arrested in Dubai. Dutch prosecutors said they would request the extradition of the suspects from the UAE. They said one of the suspects was a 37-year-old man with dual Dutch and Moroccan nationality, who was held for allegedly importing thousands of kilograms of cocaine into the Netherlands in 2020 and 2021. “These are serious criminal offences pertaining to international drug trafficking, mainly from South America via the ports of Antwerp and Rotterdam,” the Dutch public prosecution service said. The drug cartel was run from the UAE, where suspects felt they were untouchable and enjoyed a high standard of living, according to the Guardia Civil. The arrests were made after a cooperation agreement struck between Europol and the UAE in September, which allowed two UAE law enforcement officers to be deployed to the EU agency’s headquarters in the Netherlands. “This coordinated clampdown sends a strong message to criminals seeking sanctuary from law enforcement,” Europol said in a statement.