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Tuesday, February 11, 2025
HomeWorldAsiaAlleged Asia's 'El Chapo' arrested in Amsterdam

Alleged Asia’s ‘El Chapo’ arrested in Amsterdam

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Daily US Times: Netherlands police have arrested the alleged head of one of the world’s biggest drugs gangs, dubbed as Asia’s El Chapo, on a warrant issued by Australia..

Tse Chi Lop, who is a Chinese-born Canadian national and is said to be the head of The Company, also known as the Sam Gor Syndicate, which dominates a $70bn illegal drugs market across Asia.

Listed as one of the world’s most wanted fugitives, the drug lord was detained at Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport.

Australia will now seek his extradition to face trial there.

The Australian Federal Police (AFP) believe The Company is responsible for up to 70% of all illegal drugs entering the country.

Tse Chi Lop has been compared to the Mexican drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman because of the scale of his alleged enterprise.

Australian police had reportedly been tracking the 56-year-old for more than a decade before he was arrested on Friday as he was about to board a flight to Canada.

A police statement said the arrest warrant was issued in 2019, with police in the Netherlands acting on an Interpol notice. The statement did not name Mr Tse.

On Friday, a Dutch police spokesman said: “He was already on the most-wanted list and he was detained based on intelligence we received.”

Reuters news agency published a special investigation into Mr Tse in 2019 – describing him as “Asia’s most wanted man”.

Reuters cited UN estimates as saying the syndicate’s revenue from methamphetamine sales alone could have been as high as $17bn in 2018.

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