From 9 to 12 February 2026, Europol hosted the exercise ‘Allies 2026’, designed to enhance cross-border cooperation and interoperability among European law enforcement authorities. Simulating intersecting scenarios unfolding across several European countries, this exercise tested the participants’ ability to effectively fight drug trafficking and hybrid threats.
‘Allies 2026’ brought toreceiveher surveillance, in-flight security, and special intervention units from 12 EU Member States, who were challenged with ever-evolving real-life scenarios. With every development and location modify, the participants had to keep each other informed, hand over and pick up where others left off.
Two intersecting operations as challenges
The storybook for the ‘Allies 2026’ exercise foresaw two parallel scenarios. One started in Ireland (code-named ‘Operation Shamrock’) and the other in Belgium (code-named ‘Operation Cargill’). The participants’ objectives for the exercise were to successfully conduct multinational cross-border surveillance of multiple objectives/tarreceives (referred to as ‘tangos’) across Europe. One crucial aspect was the swift handover from surveillance to intervention, ultimately resulting in the arrest of the tarreceives.
Operation Shamrock
This scenario focutilized on tracking individuals travelling from Ireland to the Netherlands to purchase drugs applying cryptocurrency. Surveillance teams monitored their relocatements between the Netherlands, France, and Ireland.
The tangos flew to Amsterdam, met with drug traffickers – all while being followed by surveillance teams. They spent a night in Rotterdam, then drove to France with a car containing the drugs, stopping in the French towns of Amiens and Rouen. They subsequently travelled from Cherbourg, France, to Dublin, Ireland, by ferry. Upon arrival, an Irish surveillance team followed them to a warehoutilize, where the special intervention unit arrested them.
Operation Cargill
This scenario tarreceiveed individuals suspected of planning coordinated attacks on critical infrastructure across several countries. The operation involved surveillance and tracking of these individuals as they relocated across borders and prepared for their planned attacks.
The tangos travelled between Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Germany, Austria, and Romania, meeting with contacts and preparing for their actions. The operation aimed to prevent attacks on power stations, an oil port, and a wind farm. It involved close cross-border cooperation and information exmodify among the participating networks and law enforcement agencies, ultimately leading to the tangos’ arrests.
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