The Guardia Civil dismantled a criminal organization involved in drug trafficking and arrested its seven members. In addition, 67,744 ecstasy tablets and 15 kilograms of MDMA were seized at Madrid-Barajas Adolfo Suárez Airport.
The detainees include five men and two women, plus one person under investigation who was not detained, aged between 21 and 68, of Bolivian, Dominican, and Spanish nationalities. The principal suspect was a Bolivian businesswoman living in Madrid.
Cocaine from Bolivia
The investigation began in March 2023 as part of the Bolivianita Express operation and involved the joint action of Bolivia’s Special Force to Fight Drug Trafficking, known as the FELCN, whose authorities requested Spain’s collaboration following the ecstasy seizure. In this operation, two owners of the recipient company in Bolivia were detained.
Initial inquiries in Spain focused on the sender company handling shipments of synthetic drugs, a corporate network dedicated to parcel shipping to Bolivia, with several Madrid branches. Its head was a relative of the detainees and had previously been investigated by the Guardia Civil for shipments of cocaine from Bolivia to Spain.
Investigations showed that the suspect concealed drugs in double bottoms of shipments, using fictitious senders and recipients or the personal data of people who had nothing to do with the consignments. Using this method, the Guardia Civil traced three more MDMA shipments at Barajas Airport, resulting in the seizure of 15 kilograms of the drug.
Important international drug trafficker
Moreover, investigations revealed that the company owner used the same method to receive cocaine in Madrid from her country, where it was distributed.
Further, Spanish investigators identified the main MDMA supplier as a major international drug trafficker of Dominican origin with Spanish nationality, who had multiple prior offenses in several countries including the Dominican Republic, Chile, the United States, the Netherlands, and Spain for murder, drug trafficking, and money laundering. He was also being sought by Swiss authorities for drug trafficking.
There is also evidence that this Bolivian-origin business network was linked to the 2023 discovery of 478 kilograms of cocaine destined for Madrid from Bolivia. The case drew significant media attention in Bolivia, where several people connected to a Bolivian airport were arrested.
A garage in Carabanchel
The joint investigations between the two countries led to expanding the operation in mid-October, with searches conducted in Madrid, Getafe, and Leganés.
Two residences of the principal suspects and several facilities linked to the parcel shipping companies were searched, yielding various documents related to the operation, a small firearm, and a sawed-off shotgun.
Additionally, a cocaine laboratory was dismantled in a Carabanchel garage, where cutting agents, processing equipment, money counting machines, and 9 mm ammunition were seized.
Raids in Santa Cruz
Coordinated with Spanish authorities, the FELCN conducted four raids in Santa Cruz on companies and residences connected to this organization, seizing computer equipment, mobile phones, and documentation.
In total, 67,744 ecstasy tablets, 15 kilograms of MDMA, 181 grams of cocaine, two firearms (one 9 mm pistol and one sawed-off shotgun), four money counting machines, three precision scales, other equipment for adulteration and treatment of controlled substances, various documents, and two vehicles were seized.
The majority of the detainees have prior records for drug trafficking and are facing charges related to public health offenses including drug trafficking, belonging to a criminal group, identity theft, money laundering, and offenses against workers’ rights. After being presented before the court, seven of them were remanded in custody.