In a coordinated operation, Civil Guard, working alongside the National Police and Customs Surveillance, detained five individuals in both Spain and the Netherlands. The suspects face charges of drug trafficking, money laundering, and belonging to a criminal organization. In the course of the operation, authorities seized more than 2,300 kilograms of cocaine in Spain.
According to a statement from the General Directorate of Civil Security, the operation targets several members of an international criminal group that specialized in shipping and distributing large quantities of cocaine by sea from South America to Europe. The arrests included three people in Spain and two in the Netherlands, all under investigation for drug trafficking, money laundering, and membership in a criminal organization.
The seizures linked to the investigation occurred at the port of Bilbao in 2020 and at Algeciras between 2021 and 2022. In Bilbao, authorities recovered 1,100 kilos of cocaine camouflaged inside a lawful banana shipment moving in a sea container from Ecuador. This discovery exposed a major international network focused on large-scale cocaine trafficking and highlighted its use of sophisticated methods to evade customs controls.
The criminal network reportedly established a system of law firms that coordinated the release of containers carrying legitimate goods while concealing cocaine as legal merchandise. In some cases, other containers were nested within the structure of the shipments, masking the illicit cargo from inspection procedures.
The arrest prompted Spanish investigators to pursue the broader operation and map the scope of the organization, which had built a substantial framework around the import and distribution of cocaine by sea. Over time, investigators identified several Madrid-based fruit import companies formed specifically to facilitate large drug shipments arriving in Spain via sea containers.
A second arrest occurred in September 2021, when units from the Special Intervention Group Against Organized Crime, part of Customs Surveillance in the Basque Country and Andalusia, along with the National Police in Campo de Gibraltar, seized 1,152 kilos of cocaine at the port of Algeciras. In November 2022, a third seizure totaled 96 kilos. All disruptions were believed to be orchestrated by the same criminal organization, illustrating a tightly coordinated pattern of activity across different jurisdictions.
encrypted chats
Evidence collected during the probe was validated after an extensive, months-long analysis by the Civil Guard’s UCO unit. The examination focused on the encrypted communication systems used by the network to avoid law enforcement intervention. This breakthrough allowed authorities to identify key figures responsible for managing shipments and to trace the flow of cocaine from the place of production to its entry into Spain.
Toward the end of November, the operation entered its final phase with simultaneous searches of six residences: four located between the Madrid and Alicante provinces, and two in the Netherlands’ capital. Five individuals were arrested, three in Spain and two in the Netherlands, in connection with the management of seized cocaine consignments.
The detainees face accusations of drug trafficking, money laundering, and membership in a criminal organization for the alleged smuggling of a total of 2,348 kilograms of cocaine into Spain. Collaborative efforts among law enforcement agencies across borders also led to the arrest of a well-known Albanian drug trafficker residing in the United States, suspected of overseeing a vast network delivering cocaine to more than 15 countries, including Spain. Authorities are examining claims that he may have contemplated an underwater drone to transport substantial quantities of cocaine autonomously between South America and Europe.
The operation was led by the Central Instruction Court No. 2 of the National Court and conducted in cooperation with the U.S. Customs Service, Dutch Police, and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. The joint effort demonstrates how international cooperation plays a crucial role in dismantling transnational criminal organizations involved in the cocaine trade.
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