AMSTERDAM — Asian drug lord Tse Chi Lop was arrested in the Netherlands on suspicion of large-scale drug smuggling.

The 57-year-old Canadian citizen's arrest took place at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport, Dutch police said.

The drug lord's identity was confirmed by Australian police who issued an arrest warrant for the man in 2019.

He is suspected of running a global crime syndicate known as Sam Gor or The Company.

Australian Federal Police issued a warrant in connection with "Operation Volante, which dismantled a global crime syndicate operating in five countries," a police statement said.

That 2013 investigation resulted in the arrest of 27 people for importing and trafficking heroin and meth into Australia.

"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," a police statement said.

Dutch police had originally announced the arrest in a tweet, stating that Interpol had signaled the drug lord, sometimes dubbed Asia's "El Chapo", in 2019.

Reuters published an investigation into the little-known Asian drug lord in 2019 whose organization smuggles billions of dollars worth of methamphetamine as its primary business.

He is currently in jail and Australian authorities are working with the Attorney General to prepare a formal extradition request. — Euronews