May 11, 2026, 4:09 p.mMay 11, 2026, 4:09 p.m
Investigators in Switzerland and several other countries have succeeded in striking a blow against drug trafficking. This was preceded by investigations in Vaud into the laundering of profits from the drug trade. There were three arrests in Switzerland.
Several people were also arrested in Switzerland.Image: keystone
The coordinated police operation took place on April 28th, as the Vaud cantonal police wrote in a communiqué on Monday. According to her own statements, she had previously conducted investigations into suspected money laundering together with the Vaud public prosecutor’s office for several years.
It was said that the action took place simultaneously in the cantons of Vaud, Bern, Solothurn, Zurich, St. Gallen and Lucerne as well as in Nigeria, France and Greece. The action was coordinated by the European police authority Europol and the US anti-drug agency DEA. The Federal Office of Police (Fedpol) and the Federal Office of Customs and Border Security (BAZG) also provided support.
Money transfer agencies targeted
It was said that more than fifty police officers were on duty in Vaud alone. The three suspects were also caught there. According to the information, two of them live in the canton of Bern, another person in Vaud. All three were taken into custody – they are presumed innocent.
According to the communiqué, searches were carried out in the homes of the accused as well as in money transfer agencies in Lausanne, Bern and Lucerne. Computers and cell phones were confiscated. Assets worth several hundred thousand francs, which were suspected to have resulted from criminal activities, were also confiscated.
Interrogation in Nigeria
The Vaud police also wrote that the authorities there had confiscated real estate and assets in Nigeria. A police officer and an accounting analyst from the Vaud police also took part in the interrogation of a person suspected of aiding and abetting in the African country. The two also carried out investigative measures in cooperation with the Nigerian authorities.
The police did not specify what measures were involved. Otherwise, no further information would be provided in order not to jeopardize the progress of the investigation, it was said. The investigation would continue. (dab/sda)