17 arrested in Spain in bust against clan-based drug trafficking and money laundering network

Crime Area: money laundering linked to drug trafficking 
Action days: 12 April 2023
Participating countries: Spain
Authorities involved: Guardia Civil

 

• Arrests: 17 arrested (mainly Albanian nationals) in the provinces of Cadiz, Malaga, Madrid and Toledo; 20 individuals searched for
• Seizures: luxury cars and watches, mobile phones, computers, hard drives, firearms, gold cutlery, jewels and luxury items, EUR 142 000 cash; important amount of drugs seized throughout the investigation (10 tonnes of cocaine and 10 tonnes of hashish)
• Assets frozen: 25 vehicles and 22 properties with an estimated value of EUR 4.2 million as well as bank accounts of 14 individuals and 30 companies

Modus operandi: Drug trafficking: smuggling of hashish from Morocco and smuggling of cocaine from South America (Ecuador) to the EU in shipment containers via EU ports. Well-structured family-based organised crime network. Laundering of illicit profits through the misuse of legal business structures

Europol’s contribution: Europol’s European Financial and Economic Crime Centre provided intelligence and analytical and operational support since the onset of the case. On the action day, Europol deployed two money laundering specialists to Spain to cross-check in real-time operational information against Europol’s databases and provide leads to investigators in the field.

EMPACT: Criminal Finance, Money Laundering and Asset Recovery

For additional information, please reach out to Europol’s Press Office.