More than 100 police officers swept through 23 addresses in London today, and smashed what Scotland Yard described as the largest cocaine and money laundering ring ever uncovered in the UK.
Police arrested 10 men and two women in connection with the Colombia-based drugs cartel. Searches were ongoing at a number of homes and businesses in east London, Holloway in north London and Brixton in south London.
Most of those held in London were foreign nationals from south America.
The arrests formed the final phase of a two-year international operation targeting a highly organised cocaine importation and money laundering ring, Scotland Yard said.
Detective Chief Superintendent Sharon Kerr said the investigation was the first time in the history of policing that Scotland Yard had been able to take out an entire network of individuals from top organisers to people selling drugs on the street.
The cartel had netted in excess of £100m in the last six months, Det Ch Supt Kerr said.
Police in Colombia carried out simultaneous raids at up to 25 addresses today and arrested 15 people. Det Ch Supt Kerr said the investigation marked the first time Scotland Yard had coordinated with Colombian authorities.
The investigation has led to 20 arrests over the last six months, with the majority being charged with money laundering or drugs offences. Scotland Yard said officers had also seized cocaine with a street value of over £20m, and £2m in cash during recent operations.
Those drugs, police said, were heading straight onto the streets of London. Detectives said the break up of the cartel, which is based near Colombia's third city of Cali, was expected to have a "massive impact" on the price of cocaine in the UK.
Scotland Yard said the 20 people previously arrested had been minor figures in the ring, while today's raids targeted the "big players".
"No law enforcement agency ever has been able to penetrate this network. Often we have been nibbling around the edges, taking out the patsies, but not going to the heart of the network. It's very sophisticated," Det Ch Supt Kerr said.
Special projects head, Detective Chief Inspector Martin Molloy, said a large amount of the drugs had entered the country through UK ports.
"This amount is not something you carry in as couriers," he said.
The cartel was busted by Scotland Yard's elite and secretive special projects unit, the existence of which was only made public last week. The 30-strong team of detectives began tracking the cartel after picking up intelligence related to its operations in the UK.
Penetrating the cartel is seen as a coup for Scotland Yard after other law enforcement agencies failed to make headway.
