A total of 2,686 people were arrested for drug trafficking in the European Union last year by national police forces working in cooperation with the EU judicial agency, according to figures released by Eurojust.
Approximately 2 billion euros in criminal assets were frozen and more than 1,000 weapons, mobile phones, laptops and cars were seized, worth more than 2.8 billion euros, the agency said.
Regarding the volume of narcotics, more than 788 kilograms of synthetic drugs were seized, along with 28, 585 kilos of cocaine, 9, 224 kilos of heroin and 41, 283 kilos of cannabis.
In the cases reported to Eurojust by the member states, 21, 323 victims of crime were identified.
According to European Commissioner for Justice Mr Didier Reynders the figures for 2019 show that:
“Eurojust has gained full speed and is giving rapid judicial support and follow up to requests from Member States.”
“It is only through such active cross-border coordination and the pivotal role of the Agency that we can really tackle international organised crime. Criminals don’t stop at borders; European judicial cooperation is essential to take action against them,” Reynders added.
Eurojust supported or coordinated 17 percent more cases last year compared to 2018 and double the number in 2014.
The full results of 2019 will be presented this spring in the annual report of Eurojust, which will also focus on priorities such as combatting terrorism, cybercrime, trafficking in human beings and migrant smuggling, the agency said.
