Swedish drug probe leads to arrest in the Netherlands as international crackdown widens

Swedish police have announced that a suspect was arrested in the Netherlands as part of a large-scale international drug trafficking investigation. The latest arrest brings the total number of suspects detained to 15, after authorities reported 13 arrests in March. The arrest was the second recent major cooperation between authorities in the two countries, with the Netherlands temporarily extraditing a suspect in a Dutch triple homicide case to Sweden, who is also tied to a similar criminal case in that country.

In March, Europol’s head of organised crime, Andy Kraag, characterized the network as a worldwide criminal organisation responsible for moving large quantities of drugs between continents.

Swedish authorities have provided no further information about the suspect detained in the Netherlands. The earlier wave of arrests involved Swedish citizens living in Sweden as well as overseas. Wednesday’s update reported 14 arrests within Sweden, alongside the additional arrest carried out in the Netherlands.

During Operation Candy, investigators conducted 70 raids and confiscated assets valued at around 70 million Swedish kronor, equivalent to more than 6 million euros. The seized property included vehicles, boats, cash, and jewelry. Police said the case is now shifting from evidence collection to a more intensive investigative phase, while warning that additional arrests are likely to follow.

Prosecutors revealed last week that Veronica K., 29, a suspect in last year’s triple homicide in Oosterhout, will be sent to Sweden on a temporary basis on Wednesday to face trial in a separate case. According to the Public Prosecution Service, the Swedish proceedings concern “similar offences.” The disclosure was made during a procedural hearing on Tuesday in the Dutch criminal case against K. and fellow suspects Sman O., 25, and Tobias J., 29.

The Dutch newspaper BN DeStem reports that the Swedish case involves the 2022 killing of a 27-year-old figure within a criminal network in the Stockholm area. The exact role of K. in the case remains unclear. Both her lawyer and the Public Prosecution Service declined to provide further details.

In the Netherlands, prosecutors allege that K. had a facilitating role in the case. The two co-suspects are said to have opened fire on three men in Oosterhout on 28 March last year, carrying out two shootings in quick succession in broad daylight. Two victims died shortly after the attacks, while the third later died in hospital from his injuries weeks later. The victims, all from Oosterhout, were aged 32, 32, and 25.