Operation Atlas Nexus: 156 tonnes of drugs seized, 490 arrested in global crackdown
A Frontex-co-led international operation dismantled dozens of criminal networks across Latin America, the Caribbean and Europe. Over 156 tonnes of drugs were seized and 490 arrests made.
Global operation dismantles dozens of criminal networks across two regions
More than 156 tonnes of drugs have been seized and over 490 people arrested in a sweeping international law enforcement operation spanning Latin America, the Caribbean, Europe and beyond, stvincenttimes.com reports. Operation ATLAS NEXUS, co-led by Frontex and the Belgian Federal Police, represents the largest joint action against organised crime carried out to date between the two regions in terms of seizure volumes and the number of participating countries.
The operation was coordinated under Operational Action 6.1 of the European Multidisciplinary Platform Against Criminal Threats (EMPACT), focused on the Most Threatening Criminal Networks and Individuals (MTCNI), alongside CARICOM IMPACS. The EU's EL PACCTO 2.0 programme — its flagship security and justice cooperation initiative with Latin America and the Caribbean — facilitated coordination between actors on both sides of the Atlantic.
Five priority criminal markets guided the operational focus: drug trafficking, trafficking in human beings, document fraud, firearms trafficking and environmental crime. Authorities targeted polycriminal networks and high-value individuals, with the aim of seizing criminal assets and initiating further investigations.
Seizures and arrests
The total haul included 37.6 tonnes of cocaine, 118.6 tonnes of cannabis, 201 firearms, 3,131 units of ammunition and explosives, 803 wild animals and livestock, US$135,000 in cash and cryptocurrencies, 0.83 kg of gold, 169 properties, 464 pieces of jewellery, 468 fraudulent documents and one vehicle. Authorities executed 595 search warrants and issued 37 INTERPOL notices, 17 of them red notices.
Among the most notable individual outcomes was the identification and dismantling of the first cocaine processing laboratory ever detected in Ireland, as well as two previously unknown illegal gold mining sites in French Guiana.
Scale of the mobilisation
More than 8,680 police officers and judicial authorities participated in national operational actions. They monitored 110 aircraft, 28 vessels, 415 vehicles and 271 containers across 28 designated checkpoints at ports, airports and road corridors.
Authorities from 35 countries took part. Those reporting the most significant results include Australia, Costa Rica, France, Greece, Ireland, Montenegro, Paraguay, Portugal, Suriname and Sweden. The United States, the United Kingdom, Norway, Switzerland, Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina also joined the action alongside EU and Caribbean states. Australia played a particularly prominent role, contributing to the seizure of more than 5.6 tonnes of cocaine. Both the French Armed Forces High Command in the Antilles and Frontex provided naval assets for interception operations.
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines was among the participating Caribbean nations through the CARICOM IMPACS framework, which served as a key coordination body for the region.
Organisational network
The operation drew on regional and international bodies including AMERIPOL, EUROPOL, FRONTEX, INTERPOL, MAOC(N) and the Regional Security System (RSS). European programmes CRIMARIO II and SEACOP VI also contributed, as did the Italian-funded Interpol I-CAN programme, whose connections with West Africa and Asia were described as important to the operation's reach.
The coordination groundwork was laid during criminal profiling meetings organised by EL PACCTO 2.0 and EMPACT MTCNI, and a pre-operational phase co-organised in Panama City in April 2026. That planning phase established the intelligence-led approach and the operational framework used to identify high-value targets and the methods to be tackled.
Officials stated that the primary objective was not merely to intercept shipments but to dismantle the criminal structures enabling them — and to strip those organisations of the financial resources sustaining their operations. New trafficking routes and modi operandi were identified as a result of the action.
Source: Google News UK — Crime (en)