Alleged Asian drug syndicate kingpin Tse Chi Lop arrested by Dutch police
Dutch police arrested Tse Chi Lop, who is allegedly the head of a drug syndicate that commands an estimated $17 billion in illegal drug profits each year.
- World News
- 2 min read
Â
Dutch police arrested Tse Chi Lop, who is allegedly the head of a drug syndicate that commands an estimated $17 billion in illegal drug profits across Asia each year. The Chinese-born Canadian national was arrested by the authorities in Amsterdam after Australian Federal Police (AFP) issued an INTERPOL Red Diffusion, a less formal request than a notice. The 57-year-old man was arrested by the Central Unit of the National Police of the Netherlands on Friday, January 22.
The Australian federal police had issued an arrest warrant for Chi Lop in 2019 in connection with AFP-led 'Operation Volante', which dismantled a global crime syndicate operating in five countries. Australia had been suffering at the hands of the syndicate for the past several years that included distributing illegal narcotics and laundering the profits overseas. The Australian federal police had launched Operation Volante in 2013, which had resulted in the arrest of 27 people for importing and trafficking substantial quantities of heroin and methamphetamine into the country.
Advertisement
'Pablo Escobar of Asia'
The arrest of Chi Lop, who has been compared with drug lords Pablo Escobar and El Chapo, is part of the operation that was launched by the Australian police several years ago. According to a press release issued by the Australian Federal Police, the authorities in the country are working with the Attorney-General’s Department to prepare a formal extradition request for Chi Lop. According to reports, Chi Lop was arrested by Dutch authorities before he was about to board a flight to Canada. The Australian Federal Police had been tracking Chi Lop for years before he was finally arrested on Friday. Chi Lop is believed to have lived in Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan before moving to the Netherlands, where he was arrested. Chi Lop has previously served a nine-year prison term in the United States in the 1990s.