Drug trafficking: Europol arrests 20 suspects arrested in coordinated operation across Czechia, Slovakia and Ukraine

A coordinated law enforcement operation supported by Europol and Eurojust has dismantled an organised crime group suspected of trafficking methamphetamine and cocaine from Western Europe into Eastern Europe.

On 18 June 2026, authorities in Czechia, Slovakia and Ukraine arrested 20 suspects believed to have played key roles in a criminal network that sourced large quantities of methamphetamine in Western Europe before transporting the drugs through Poland to Slovakia and Ukraine.

The group sourced multi-kilogram quantities of methamphetamine in Western Europe, before transporting the drugs through Czechia to a logistical hub in Rzeszów, Poland. From there, the shipments were moved onwards to Slovakia for distribution, while part of the consignments continued to Uzhhorod in western Ukraine.

Investigators estimate that the network trafficked at least 50 kilograms of methamphetamine and two kilograms of cocaine, generating close to €950,000 in criminal proceeds from methamphetamine trafficking alone.

In Ukraine, authorities arrested eight suspects and carried out more than 80 searches. They also seized drones, firearms and ammunition, equipment used to operate a bot farm, cash and electronic devices.

To evade law enforcement, the traffickers continuously adapted their concealment methods. Drugs were transported in passenger vehicles and buses and hidden on couriers’ bodies or concealed inside children’s toys, household items and other everyday objects.

The operation was conducted as part of the European Multidisciplinary Platform Against Criminal Threats (EMPACT) that tackles the most important threats posed by organised and serious international crime affecting the EU.

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Press release