European investigators uncovered an international synthetic drugs network run from Poland and have seized more than 9.3 tonnes of narcotics and arrested over 100 suspects, Polish prosecutors said on Wednesday.
The operation targeted a criminal group accused of importing chemical precursors from China and India and manufacturing synthetic drugs in more than 20 illegal laboratories for distribution across the European Union.
Prosecutors said the group operated a complex international supply chain, legally importing large quantities of chemicals which were then repackaged and channelled to illegal drug laboratories in Poland and Western Europe. Poland served as the logistical hub.
Video released by Polish police showed raids on suspects’ homes by armed officers and huge stockpiles of chemicals in plastic containers and distillation equipment.
Launched in 2022 by Polish anti-narcotics officers, the investigation expanded into a multi-country operation.
Authorities dismantled over 20 illegal laboratories and drug production lines in Poland, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands and the Czech Republic and seized more than 9.3 tonnes of narcotics, vast quantities of chemical precursors and assets.
The prosecutor’s office did not provide an estimate of the value of the seized drugs.
Europol, the EU’s agency for fighting international and organised crime, enabled intelligence-sharing and synchronised police actions across borders, prosecutors said.
Large-scale chemical import business serving illegal drug labs
The operational structure of this criminal network was complex, with seven legal companies in Poland facilitating the import and distribution activities, and high-level leadership coordination connecting the different criminal groups across EU countries. In some cases, the same criminal cells operating within the larger network managed both the logistics for the supply of precursors and the coordination of production in clandestine labs. The primary criminal network targeted by this investigation is predominantly composed of Polish nationals, with involvement from a few Belgian and Dutch nationals operating within interconnected groups.
The starting point was the importation of legal chemicals commonly used in industries such as the pharmaceutical sector. However, the volumes imported into Europe were exceptionally high, giving rise to strong suspicions that they by far exceeded the legitimate needs of EU-based industries. This concern was reinforced by the fact that only minimal quantities of these chemicals are actually required and used in lawful industrial processes. During repackaging, the chemicals were largely mislabelled to facilitate their distribution to production sites, a practice that clearly indicated criminal intent.
Operation Fabryka – participating authorities:
- Belgium: Federal Judicial Police (Federale Politie / Police Fédérale)
- Czechia: Czech Police (Policie České republiky)
- Germany: Customs Investigation Department (Zollfahndungsamt Hannover); Police Lower Saxony (Polizei Niedersachsen, ZKI Osnabrueck)
- Netherlands: The Financial and Tax Crime Investigation Service (De opsporingsdienst van financiële en fiscale criminaliteit – FIOD); (Landelijk Internationaal Rechtshulp Centrum – LIRC), National Police (Politie – National criminal investigations and specials operations)
- Poland: Polish Police (Policja); The National Public Prosecutor’s Office (Prokuratura Krajowa); National Tax Administration (Krajowa Administracja Skarbowa)
- Spain: Spanish National Police (Policía National)
Results from the action day on 16 January 2026:
- 20 arrests (1 in Germany, and 19 in Poland);
- 2 High Value Targets included in the number of the arrests;
- 50 house searches (2 in Belgium, 2 in Germany, 45 including 4 distribution centres in Poland, 1 in the Netherlands);
- Seizures include 9 vehicles, real estate estimated at EUR 2.5 million, vast amounts of chemicals and precursors, an active marijuana cultivation with over 2 000 plants.
