GENEVA (AP) — Swiss authorities have arrested five people, frozen several bank accounts and seized real estate in a sweep against alleged illegal drug trafficking and money laundering in the millions of dollars.

Zurich state police say the arrests in a "coordinated international action" follow an investigation started in 2010 after authorities in Germany seized more than 1.3 tons of cocaine, and investigators traced links to a Brazilian couple in Zurich.

The couple allegedly operated a travel agency and a company for money transfers that transferred multimillion-dollar amounts to different countries.

The Zurich police statement Tuesday said the five men and women aged between 35 and 55 were arrested in Switzerland and South America, but did not say whether the Brazilian couple was among those detained.