Polish special services have prevented over €514 million worth of cocaine from being smuggled into the country, with Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki saying that it was the largest drug smuggling attempt in Polish history.
“We saved not only many Poles from tears, tragedies, broken lives, and deaths, but also many Europeans. This is due to the smuggling of about two tons of cocaine worth around €514 million from Colombia, conducted through special operations. We were able to thwart it through the work of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBŚP) and The National Revenue Administration (KAS),” Morawiecki said.
KAS officers seized massive amounts of cocaine at the Gdynia container terminal. At the same time, CBŚP police officers closed a cocaine factory and drug warehouse in Greater Poland Voivodship.
Citizens from Colombia, Iran, Germany, and Poland have been detained due to the ongoing investigation.
According to Morawiecki, the crime group was comprised of four Colombians, at least two Poles and one Iranian. He emphasized, that although the whole operation took a significant amount of time, it had successfully stopped “a unique attempt at smuggling on a European-wide scale.”
The Ministry of Internal Affairs, Mariusz Kamiński, underlined that the Polish officers were dealing with a criminal operation at the “European level”.
“The largest revealed smuggling of cocaine in Polish history is definitely an even of a European level. I would like to thank CBŚP and KAS officers for this incredible work,” said Kamiński. “This shows how important cooperation between services is.”
Minister Mariusz Kamiński w #KPRM: Największy ujawniony przemyt kokainy w historii Polski to zdecydowanie wydarzenie rangi europejskiej. Bardzo dziękuję funkcjonariuszom @PolskaPolicja i @KAS_GOV_PL za tę niezwykłą akcję. To pokazuje jak ważna jest współpraca między służbami. pic.twitter.com/xcLemF1k6e
— MSWiA (@MSWiA_GOV_PL) 5 December 2019
The Polish prime minister stressed that the state should always be one step ahead of crime, which is what was accomplished during this operation through the use of the newest law enforcement technologies.
“International crime groups are incredibly well organized, but the professionalism of KAS and CBŚP was able to overcome. I can gladly say we can sleep soundly knowing that the state is strong and efficient against some of the most challegning criminal groups,” added Morawiecki.
