An alleged drug lord known as “El Chapo de Asia” has been arrested in Amsterdam on suspicion of leading a multi-million dollar drug operation, authorities said.
Tse Chi Lop, a Canadian citizen of Chinese descent, was detained without incident at Schiphol Airport at the request of Australian police, who have led an international investigation into his cartel, a Dutch police spokesman said on Saturday. Thomas Aling.
“He was already on the most wanted list and was arrested according to the intelligence we received,” Aling said.
Authorities said Tse, 57, is union leader Sam Gor, who allegedly dominates the Asia-Pacific drug trade at $ 70 billion a year.
Tse, a former convict who previously lived in Toronto, allegedly ran the massive empire while living in Macau, Hong Kong and Taiwan.
Authorities allege the cartel has introduced high-potency methamphetamine to more than a dozen countries, in addition to heroin and MDMA trafficking.
The union “has been involved in or directly involved in at least 13 cases” of drug trafficking since January 2015, according to court documents.
Jeremy Douglas, regional representative of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), has previously warned that Tse is as big a threat as other notorious drug lords.
“Tse Chi Lop is in the El Chapo league or maybe Pablo Escobar,” he told Reuters.
UNODC estimated that the Tse group earned up to $ 17 billion in 2018.
Tse is expected to be extradited after appearing before a judge, Dutch police said.
With publishing cables