The “Familia” operation, coordinated by Europol and the US Drug Enforcement Agency, carried out the massive seizure on May 16, but details were only released on Thursday.
Swiss police were heavily involved: of the tonne of cocaine recovered, 603kg was found packed in suitcases on a private jet at Basel airport. Two million euros in cash and one million of luxury goods was also seized.
According to the French police, who worked with their Swiss counterparts, the jet came from Uruguay and stopped over in Nice before landing in Basel.
Three men – a Croat, a Czech, and a Montenegrin – were arrested in the north-western Swiss city and remain in preventative detention.
The international operation was instigated by Croatian police, who suspected a vast project of cocaine-smuggling from South America run by a Balkan criminal network. The police operation involved authorities in 14 countries and led to 16 arrests in total – mainly Czech, Croatian, and Serbian citizens, according to the Basel public prosecutor’s office.
“It is probably the biggest ever seizure of cocaine from an air transport route in Europe,” the office told the Keystone-SDA news agency.
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Why Swiss cities dominate the cocaine hit parade
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In terms of European cocaine usage, half of the top ten cities are Swiss.
Sixteen-day Swiss campaign against gender-based violence ends
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The 16-day campaign against gender-based violence came to an end on Tuesday. Several hundred organizations mobilized across Switzerland during this period, after kicking off with a mobilization attended by 10,000 people.
Swiss parliament wants CHF15 million for women’s Euro 2025
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Parliament wants Switzerland to support next year's European Women's Football Championship with CHF15 million ($17 million).
Rare Roman coin auctioned for almost CHF2 million in Geneva
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A rare Roman coin with a portrait of Brutus, the assassin of Julius Caesar, was sold at a Geneva auction on Monday for CHF1.89 million ($2.15 million), according to the organiser of the sale.
Swiss Senate approves federal budget without opposition
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The Swiss army will receive an additional CHF530 million in 2025, and no cuts will be made to direct payments for agriculture. What is unclear is how much will be saved on foreign aid.
Swiss suspend decisions on asylum-seekers from Syria
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Asylum procedures and decisions for asylum-seekers from Syria will be suspended with immediate effect until the situation can be reassessed, the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) said.
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Potentially toxic arsenic compounds can form in the human body when seafood is consumed. This is caused by arsenobetaine, which is often found in seafood. It can be converted into partially toxic substances by intestinal bacteria.
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Swiss retailer Coop is expanding its programme to avoid meat waste. A corresponding pilot project is gradually being extended to the entire store network.
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Women and foreign nationals are rarely found on the boards of directors of Swiss small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs).
Almost 700,000 people moved house in Switzerland in 2023
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In Switzerland, 9.3% of the population moved in 2023. This was the lowest rate in over ten years, the Federal Statistical Office (FSO) said on Monday.
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Youth crime: more drug use, less dealing
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There was a 6% rise in drug use offences among young people in Switzerland in 2017, but convictions for drug dealing dropped by 18%.
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More than 50 people have been arrested and large quantities of heroin, cocaine and marijuana have been seized following a joint police operation.
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Judicial authorities in the Swiss canton of Fribourg have dismantled an Albanian heroin trafficking ring active in several parts of the country.
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If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.