Dutch police have arrested the alleged leader of one of the world’s biggest drug gangs.
Officers said they detained Tse Chi Lop, a Chinese-born Canadian accused of running The Company, an organisation believed to dominate the £50bn-a year Asia -Pacific drug trade, on Friday.
Mr Tse, who has been compared to Mexican drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo ” Guzman, was arrested without incident at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport, Dutch police spokesperson Thomas Aling has said.
“He was already on the most-wanted list and he was detained based on intelligence we received,” Mr Aling said.
The alleged gang leader was arrested on a warrant issued by Australia.
World news in pictures
Show all 50
1 /50World news in pictures
World news in pictures
23 January 2021
Law enforcement officers detain a woman during a rally in support of jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny in Moscow, Russia
Reuters
World news in pictures
22 January 2021
People line up to get their nucleic acid test following the outbreak of coronavirus in Beijing, China
Reuters
World news in pictures
21 January 2021
Activists of the Nepalese Communist party and riot police scuffle during torch protest against the Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli in Kathmandu, Nepal. Hundreds of student activists of Nepal’s communist party staged the torch rally demonstration against the Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli government’s move of dissolving the House of Representatives
EPA
World news in pictures
20 January 2021
Joe Biden is sworn in as the 46th president of the United States by Chief Justice John Roberts as Jill Biden holds the Bible during the 59th Presidential Inauguration at the U.S. Capitol in Washington
AP
World news in pictures
19 January 2021
People help a woman to take a bath in the icy waters of a frozen lake during the celebration of the Epiphany holiday near the the village of Leninskoe
AFP/Getty
World news in pictures
18 January 2021
A man works in the UNESCO-listed Lavaux vineyards overlooking Lake Leman after a snowfall on a winter day in Riex, Switzerland
Reuters
World news in pictures
17 December 2021
A still image taken from video footage shows law enforcement officers speaking with Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny before leading him away at Sheremetyevo airport in Moscow, Russia
Reuters
World news in pictures
16 January 2021
Thai police arrest an anti-government protester attending a rally at the Victory Monument in Bangkok, Thailand
EPA
World news in pictures
15 January 2021
A man on skis crosses a street in Zurich, Switzerland
Reuters
World news in pictures
14 January 2021
Camels in the desert between Alula and Yanbu in Saudi Arabia during the Stage 11 of the Dakar Rally
AFP/Getty
World news in pictures
13 January 2021
Students wearing traditional Punjabi outfits perform a folk dance to celebrate Lohri, the spring festival, in Amritsar
AFP/Getty
World news in pictures
12 January 2021
Georgia’s Tato Grigalashvili (white) and Netherlands’ Frank De Wit fight during the men’s under 81kg category of the World Judo Masters in the Qatari capital Doha
AFP/Getty
World news in pictures
11 January 2021
A car submerged on a flooded street in the town of Fushe Kosove after heavy rain and snow showers in Kosovo
AFP/Getty
World news in pictures
10 January 2021
Indonesian Navy personnel carry debris believed to be from the Sriwijaya Air SJ-182 plane, which crashed into the sea, off the Jakarta coast
Reuters
World news in pictures
9 January 2021
Two friends spend some time at a self-made terrace in Callao Street during the snowfall in Madrid, Spain. Storm Filomena brought the heaviest snowfall in decades
EPA
World news in pictures
8 January 2021
A woman throws hot water into the air, which instantly condenses into ice crystals amid temperatures of minus 27 degrees Celsius, in Shenyang in northeastern China’s Liaoning province
AFP/Getty
World news in pictures
7 January 2021
France’s biker Pasca Rauber rests at the foot of a truck during the Stage 5 of the Dakar Rally 2021 between Riyadh and Buraydah in Saudi Arabia, on January 7, 2021
AFP via Getty Images
World news in pictures
6 January 2021
Believers burn dried oak branches, which symbolise the Yule log, on Orthodox Christmas Eve in front of the Saint Sava temple in Belgrade, Serbia
Reuters
World news in pictures
5 January 2021
A man carries bricks in a brickfield in Saver on the outskirts of Dhaka
AFP/Getty
World news in pictures
4 January 2021
Biker Walter Roelants rides during Stage 2 of the Dakar Rally 2021 between Bisha and Wadi Ad-Dawasir in Saudi Arabia
AFP/Getty
World news in pictures
3 January 2021
A snowman stands in front of the Reichstag building in Berlin, Germany
EPA
World news in pictures
2 January 2021
French Gendarmes speak to a youth sitting in the back of a van in a panda suit following the break up of a party near a disused hangar in Lieuron, about 40km south of Rennes
AFP/Getty
World news in pictures
1 January 2021
Fireworks from the SkyTower during Auckland New Year’s Eve celebrations in New Zealand
Getty/Auckland Unlimited
World news in pictures
31 December 2020
The full moon shines behind the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Reuters
World news in pictures
30 December 2020
People run following an explosion at the airport in Aden, Yemen, shortly after a plane carrying the newly formed Cabinet landed
AP
World news in pictures
29 December 2020
Croatian soldiers and people clean rubble next to damaged buildings in Petrinja after the town was hit by an earthquake of the magnitude of 6.4
AFP via Getty
World news in pictures
28 December 2020
Helpers prepare the hill ahead the training jump of the Four-Hills Ski Jumping tournament (Vierschanzentournee) in Oberstdorf, southern Germany
AFP via Getty
World news in pictures
27 December 2020
A man sits next to a snowman after first snowfalls in Landi Kotal
AFP via Getty
World news in pictures
26 December 2020
Workers carving a snow sculpture of an ox in Shenyang, in northeastern Liaoning province
AFP via Getty
World news in pictures
25 December 2020
A large explosion ripped through part of downtown Nashville early on Christmas morning
Nashville Fire Department
World news in pictures
24 December 2020
A surfer wipes out at Pipeline on the north shore of Oahu, Hawaii
AFP via Getty
World news in pictures
23 December 2020
A scuba diver dressed as Santa Claus feeds fish during a performance show at Aquaria KLCC aquarium in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
AP
World news in pictures
22 December 2020
People dressed in Santa Claus costumes play volleyball at a beach in Tel Aviv, Israel
EPA
World news in pictures
21 December 2020
A man dressed as a Santa Claus waves to a child as he descends from the roof of the paediatric clinic in Ljubljana, Slovenia
AFP via Getty Images
World news in pictures
20 December 2020
Aerial view of an empty Dam Square with Christmas tree in Amsterdam, the Netherlands
EPA
World news in pictures
19 December 2020
A demonstrator gives the victory sign during a protest, in Khartoum, Sudan. Protests in Sudan’s capital and across the country are demanding a faster pace to democratic reforms, in demonstrations that are marking the two-year anniversary of the uprising that led to the military’s ousting of strongman Omar al-Bashir
AP
World news in pictures
18 December 2020
A child wraps himself in a blanket while gathering at the Government House with other students from the Government Science Secondary school, in Kankara, in northwestern Katsina State, Nigeria upon their release. More than 300 Nigerian schoolboys were released on Thursday after being abducted in an attack claimed by Boko Haram, officials said, although it was unclear if any more remained with their captors
AFP via Getty Images
World news in pictures
17 December 2020
Children stand together holding hands in circles in a rainwater pond at the flooded “Mukhayyam al-Khair” camp near the village of Kafr Uruq in the north of Idlib province, housing Syrians displaced from Saraqib and Maaret al-Numan following heavy rain in the previous days
AFP via Getty Images
World news in pictures
16 December 2020
Shuhei Okawara, 30, owner of mask shop Kamenya Omote, holds a super-realistic face mask based on his real face, made by using 3D printing technology, in Tokyo, Japan
Reuters
World news in pictures
15 December 2020
The light installation “Ray of Hope” illuminates the Bellevue Palace, the seat of German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, in Berlin, Germany. People could submit their personal message, which then will be part of the light projection, where Steinmeier would like to send a sign of encouragement and solidarity at the end of this special year shaped by the coronavirus pandemic. The message reads “Respect”
Reuters
World news in pictures
14 December 2020
A Nihang (Sikh warrior) kisses his horse at the site of a protest against the newly passed farm bills at Singhu border near New Delhi, India
Reuters
World news in pictures
13 December 2020
People watch their home burns at an informal settlement in Germiston, near Johannesburg, South Africa. The fire ripped through the neighbourhood and destroyed three homes
AP
World news in pictures
12 December 2020
Tourists walk in front of an ice temple at the Changchun Ice-Snow Grand World in northeastern China’s Jilin province
AFP via Getty
World news in pictures
11 December 2020
Demonstrators celebrate with green headscarves – the symbol of pro-abortion activists – outside the Argentine Congress in Buenos Aires after legislators passed a bill to legalise abortion
AFP via Getty Images
World news in pictures
10 December 2020
An aerial picture of graves in Ortakoy cemetery, the main burial site for people who died during the Covid-19 novel coronarivus pandemic in the region of Ankara
AFP via Getty
World news in pictures
9 December 2020
Marajuana plants are burned during a raid by Indonesia’s National Narcotics Board (BNN), the police and the military destroyed some 4.5 hectares of cannabis plantations in the Lamteuba forest line, Aceh province
AFP via Getty
World news in pictures
8 December 2020
Stranded commuters of a local train look out as supporters of left parties block a train track during a nationwide shutdown called by thousands of Indian farmers protesting new agriculture laws, in Kolkata, India
AP
World news in pictures
7 December 2020
A crocodile with a motorbike tyre around its neck in a river in Palu, Central Sulawesi province, months after Australian television presenter and crocodile expert Matthew Nicholas Wright failed to trap it to remove the tyre
AFP via Getty
World news in pictures
6 December 2020
Locals carry acks of sorghum for Ethiopian refugees who fled the Tigray conflict in a warehouse erected by the World Food Programme (WFP) at Um Raquba refugee camp in Gedaref, eastern Sudan
AFP via Getty
World news in pictures
5 December 2020
Indian farmers huddle together as they share a hookah while blocking a major highway during a protest against new farm laws at the Delhi-Uttar Pradesh state border, India. They fear the laws passed in September will lead the government to stop buying grain at minimum guaranteed prices and result in exploitation by corporations who will push down prices
AP
He is expected to be extradited after appearing before a judge.
In a separate statement , the Australian Federal Police (AFP) said its department had issued an arrest warrant for Mr Tse in 2019 in connection with an investigation known as Operation Volante.
Operation Volante had been launched with the goal of dismantling a “global crime syndicate operating in five countries”, the police force said.
“The syndicate targeted Australia over a number of years, importing and distributing large amounts of illicit narcotics, laundering the profits overseas and living off the wealth obtained from crime,” the AFP said.
In 2013, the police force had announced that the same operation had resulted in the arrest of 27 people for importing and trafficking substantial quantities of heroin and methamphetamine into Australia.
Speaking in 2019, Jeremy Douglas, the Southeast Asia and Pacific representative for the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), claimed Mr Tse was “in the league of El Chapo or maybe Pablo Escobar’.”
The organisation he is accused of running, which is also known by the name “Sam Gor”, which means “Brother Number Three” in Cantonese, is believed to be connected with at least 13 cases of drug trafficking since January 2015, according to Reuters.