MELBOURNE, Victoria, Australia - In a landmark international police operation, the forensic analysis of two mobile phones seized in a small Swedish town has unraveled a sprawling criminal architecture stretching across Europe, Asia, and Australia, culminating in coordinated raids and 15 arrests.

The investigation, code-named Operation Candy, began in November 2023 when Swedish law enforcement officers apprehended an alleged drug trafficker and seized his devices. What investigators discovered inside the encrypted communications was not a local drug ring, but a sophisticated global enterprise dealing in multi-tonne drug shipments and large-scale money laundering.

On March 4, 2026, authorities in Spain, Sweden, and Thailand executed approximately 20 simultaneous house searches targeting key nodes of the network. The coordinated actions—directed from command posts across Europe—resulted in 13 arrests and the seizure of €4 million (AUD $6.8 million) in assets, including cash, luxury watches, jewelry, vehicles, and yachts. The operation built on previous activity in Australia, bringing the total number of arrests to 15.

The Digital Breadcrumb Trail

Swedish authorities, supported by forensic specialists at Europol, extracted data from the devices that revealed encrypted communications and operational details spanning multiple jurisdictions. The investigation exposed several interconnected organized crime groups allegedly involved in synthetic drug trafficking and money laundering.

According to police, the networks shared facilitators and utilized a complex web of corporate entities to obscure ownership, logistics, and financial flows across borders.

The Australian Connection: 1.2 Tonnes Intercepted

The investigation took a critical turn when German Customs officers detected and seized 1.2 tonnes of illicit drugs hidden inside two shipping containers in February 2025. The consignment, manifested to contain a product commonly used in road manufacturing, was destined for Melbourne.

German authorities removed the illicit substances but allowed the containers to continue their journey under surveillance. When the shipment arrived at the Port of Melbourne in April 2025, Australian law enforcement—including the Australian Federal Police (AFP), Victoria Police, and the Australian Border Force—inserted an inert substance before releasing it for delivery.

Police tracked the consignment to a warehouse in Victoria's central highlands and then to a factory in the Melbourne suburb of Sunshine. Two men, aged 32 and 52, were arrested and are currently before the courts in Australia facing charges related to the alleged importation attempt.

Global Network, Local Impact

Mats Berggren, Acting Deputy Head of the Operations Department of the Swedish Police Authority, emphasized the borderless nature of modern organized crime.

"But we have once again proven that you can't hide behind country borders or digital borders," Berggren said in a statement on Saturday. "When we share information and act together as one international system we strike back on organized crime."

AFP Commander Christopher Woods highlighted the importance of the international collaboration in protecting Australian communities.

"The AFP's role is to combat organised crime impacting Australia's national security and to keep Australians safe; while also sharing intelligence and resources with global partners to support their efforts to protect their communities," Commander Woods said.

"The success of this operation also brought criminal charges to those we allege were waiting to collect the illicit drugs, and highlights the importance of international and domestic partnerships for crippling the threat posed by organised crime groups - no matter where they operate."

Victoria Police Acting Commander Jason Kelly underscored the societal toll of drug trafficking.

"Make no mistake: the impact these illicit substances have on human behaviour translates to road trauma, family violence, homicides, fatal shootings and other violent offending intrinsically linked to illicit drug trafficking," Kelly said.

A New Era of Criminal Enterprise

Andy Kraag, Head of Europol's European Serious and Organised Crime Centre, said the case exemplified the evolution of organized crime.

"It started with something small - two mobile phones seized from a trafficker in a small Swedish town. But what investigators found inside was not a local story," Kraag said. "It was a global criminal enterprise moving tonnes of drugs across continents, hiding profits behind layers of companies and coordinating through encrypted communications and online marketplaces."

Erik Fågelsbo, Eurojust's National Member for Sweden, stressed the importance of judicial cooperation in ensuring the operation leads to convictions.

"Through coordination at Eurojust, judicial authorities from five countries worked closely together to identify the links connecting their national investigations, plan joint actions, and agree on a common prosecutorial strategy," Fågelsbo said. "This judicial cooperation not only contributed to arrests around the world but will also be essential to any future prosecutions and trials. Our goal is not only to arrest suspects, but to ensure that justice is ultimately served."

The operation involved law enforcement and judicial authorities from Sweden, Germany, Australia, Spain, Thailand, Europol, and Eurojust, demonstrating the power of coordinated international action against transnational organized crime.

File photo.