Dominica was among 35 countries involved in Operation ATLAS NEXUS, an international operation that identified and dismantled dozens of transnational criminal networks and resulted in more than 490 arrests.
According to a joint press release, the operation brought together law enforcement, customs and judicial authorities from Latin America, the Caribbean, Europe and other regions. Based on the volume of seizures and number of countries involved, it was described as the largest joint operation against organised crime carried out to date between the two regions.
Led by the Belgian Federal Police, the operation was jointly coordinated through EMPACT Operational Action 6.1, focused on the Most Threatening Criminal Networks and Individuals (MTCNI), FRONTEX and CARICOM IMPACS, with support from EL PACCTO 2.0, the European Union’s security and justice cooperation programme with Latin America and the Caribbean.
ATLAS NEXUS targeted five priority criminal markets: drug trafficking, human trafficking, document fraud, firearms trafficking and environmental crime.
Authorities seized 156.9 tonnes of material and arrested more than 490 people, while 18 victims were rescued and assisted.
The seizures 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 kilogrammes of gold, 169 properties, 464 pieces of jewellery, 468 fraudulent documents and one vehicle.
The operation also identified and dismantled Ireland’s first detected cocaine-processing laboratory and uncovered two new illegal gold-mining sites in French Guiana. Thirty-seven INTERPOL notices were issued, including 17 red notices.
More than 8,680 police officers and judicial authorities participated in national operations that monitored 110 aircraft, 28 vessels, 415 vehicles and 271 containers at 28 designated checkpoints. A total of 595 search warrants were executed.
The operation involved AMERIPOL, CARICOM IMPACS, EUROPOL, FRONTEX, INTERPOL, MAOC(N) and the Regional Security System, as well as CRIMARIO II, SEACOP VI and the Italian-funded Interpol I-CAN programme. Australia also played a key role in the seizure of more than 5.6 tonnes of cocaine.
The participating countries were Germany, Argentina, Australia, Barbados, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Dominica, Ecuador, the United States, Greece, Grenada, Guyana, Hungary, Ireland, Jamaica, Luxembourg, Malta, Montenegro, Norway, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Portugal, the Dominican Republic, Romania, the United Kingdom, St Lucia, Slovenia, Switzerland, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago.
