Brazil and Italy Target Cocaine Trafficking and Money Laundering Network Linked to ’Ndrangheta
Brazilian Federal Police, supported by Europol and Italian authorities, launched Operation Eredità on 17 September 2026 against a transnational network suspected of moving large cocaine shipments from South America to Europe and laundering the proceeds.
Brazilian authorities said seven preventive arrest warrants and five search-and-seizure warrants were being executed. Courts also ordered asset measures covering real estate, bank accounts, investments and other property linked to individuals and companies under investigation.
The investigation developed from earlier Operations Retis and Spiderweb, which examined cooperation between Brazilian criminal groups and members of the Italian ’Ndrangheta. According to Brazil’s Federal Police, investigators connected the network to at least 11 cocaine seizures made in 2019 and 2020, totalling more than 4.6 tonnes. The shipments were destined for several European countries, including Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, France and Portugal.
About 2.2 tonnes of that total had been stored in Brazil when arrests were made in 2019. Investigators allege that after two Italian members of the network were detained, relatives and associates reorganised parts of the structure and continued activities connected with the acquisition, storage, transport and export of cocaine.
The case has involved sustained international cooperation. Europol said the operation targeted a major drug trafficking and money laundering network linked to the ’Ndrangheta, while Brazilian authorities said Italian law-enforcement partners supported the action. The investigation has included evidence sharing and coordination across jurisdictions as authorities traced both the trafficking structure and related financial activity.
The proceedings remain investigative. The measures and allegations described by the authorities do not by themselves establish criminal liability for the persons or entities involved.
Sources
Polícia Federal — Operação Eredità
Europol — Seven arrests in Brazil during crackdown on South America-Europe cocaine pipeline
