61 members of a network that defrauded more than a thousand people worldwide were arrested in Spain

The National Police arrested these 61 people in the provinces of Madrid, Barcelona, ​​Malaga and Santander. In an operation carried out jointly with the Tax Office, Customs Brokerage and Europol. In addition, 16 people were arrested in Portugal and three in the United Kingdom..

The operation was performed with 53 simultaneous recordings. More than 500 thousand dollars, 30 thousand euros, 200 telephone terminals, computers and vehicles were intervened.

In a press release, the National Police announced that investigators had guessed organization managed to scam over 1000 victimsin fact Seniors residing in the USA and is one of the largest criminal organizations dedicated to this type of crime.

steering core It was located in the Madrid towns of Parla and Fuenlabrada.with branches throughout the national territory, United Kingdom, Mexico and United States.

The investigation began at the end of 2019, when agents detected packages from the US. large sums of money hidden inside magazines.

The organization commissioned a printing press in Fuenlabrada to do mass printing. letters simulating unclaimed family legacies as well as lottery or other prizes. They were printed with the victims’ names and surnames, or generally in two forms, and would then receive personalized labels with personal data and addresses to place in envelopes.

Behind this, they were transported to Portugal in passenger cars or buses with suitcases to send them in bulk, because the cost of the service was lower than in Spain. The researchers calculated that the approximate cost of all sent letters could reach 500,000 euros.

Victims, always elderly and retired, deceived them by calling the phone number that appears on the letters, until they made a small survey to find out about their purchasing power and believed they were lucky. They were informed that they had to pay an initial amount for fees and bureaucratic taxes to claim the prize. those affected will pay between 1,000 and 30,000 euros.

The organization had a profit hiding system consisting of: order their victims to remit the alleged payment of wages to another potential victim. He was made to believe that he had been given a loan so that he could complete his payment.

So he borrowed money and with all he could collect, he sent cash to a third party who was also a victim, who in turn sent it to a member of the organization in Spain, this is the final receiver. The money was stored in magazines or catalogs seized by the Tax Office’s Customs Surveillance Service, thanks to checks and alerts on parcel movements at customs.

Once they had moneythey sent him to his country of origin through the network of people dedicated to traveling, known as the “mule”. storing in trunk or wallet cards.

More than 60 arrests in Spain

Of the 80 detainees, 61 are in Spain, 16 in Portugal and three in the United Kingdom.24 recordings were made in Spain, 26 in Portugal and three in the United Kingdom.

Registrations in Spain took place in the Madrid municipalities of Parla and Fuenlabrada, Santander and the Malaga town of Benalmádena. The detainees were handed over to the judicial authorities on charges of fraud, document falsification, money laundering and membership of a criminal organization. The number of victims identified exceeds 400, but it is estimated that there may be more than 1,000 worldwide.

The US Postal Inspection Service, the North American Department of Homeland Security, the Portuguese Judicial Police and the British National Crime Agency collaborated in the operation.