A year ago, a Civil Guard patrol in Alicante found a wounded Moroccan man lying on the pavement. It looked like another incident in the long-running wave of crime that has taken root in the Levante region. He bore bruises typical of a brutal beating. At the station he explained that he had escaped from an apartment on the beach in San Juan, was captured in Murcia, and kept by two violent Italians who beat him with submachine guns at one point.
The Moroccan served as the keeper for marijuana that his gang had gathered. Italian criminals and their associates seized control when the Moors allegedly deceived the buyers. Anger flared, and the Moroccan was taken hostage in retaliation.
Police and Civil Guard sources describe it as part of a post-embryonic phase of the presence of Cosa Nostra, Camorra, and the ’Ndrangheta in Spain, with a Calabrian faction leading organized crime as other networks faced pressure. Spain has evolved from a mere hideout to a substantial base of operations for Italian mafias operating across the country and beyond.
Left
The Alicante case stands as a symptom of a broader trend, while recent operations against the ’Ndrangheta in Spain illustrate a coordinated crackdown. The September sweep by Civil Guards and Italian police yielded a striking result—massive in scale, with dozens detained and numerous searches conducted across Ibiza, Tenerife, Barcelona, and Malaga. The focus extended to drugs, weapons, and the movement of money.
Authorities report cargo involving almost five kilograms of cocaine, eighteen kilograms of amphetamines, six hundred marijuana plants, and logistics tied to cannabis distribution. Money flowed into real estate, brick investments, and other cash-heavy ventures.
The national police have strengthened a dedicated unit for this line of crime, with Udyco now featuring a specialized group focused on Italian mafias and Balkan cartels. These teams have reported a growing infiltration into Spain’s legal economy through properties, hotels, and dining establishments run by individuals tied to Italian criminal networks.
One case involved an Italian restaurant operation in Galapagar linked to a Sicilian figure who had been a long-time fugitive. When authorities located him in January after years on the run, he had shifted to a greengrocer business under a different name in the same town.
Pasquale Bonavota, a wanted member of the ’Ndrangheta, is described as a violent figure with a long history of crime. He was once reported to be negotiating to acquire an Italian video game company in 2018 before vanishing from public view.
Bonavota is depicted as a man marked by violence, a killer serving a Life sentence. His early years were shaped by an armed clash in his home region, an event known as a notorious massacre on a holiday, when rival clans clashed in a church for control. The violence left several relatives dead and many wounded, shaping a path toward a life spent in conflict and pursuit.
invisible
Interpreted by Interpol as the only Italian criminal organization with a cross-continental footprint, the ’Ndrangheta’s reach stretches across five continents, complicating global law enforcement efforts.
Thus, many leads exist to pursue the hidden nodes of this network. If a fugitive pizzeria owner can also run a greengrocer, and a man once thought to be merely a tourist could harbor forged papers, the Italian mafia presence on Spain’s coast reads as a subtle, sustained, and highly mobile operation. Some suspects blend into the sea of expatriates along beaches, quietly observing, waiting for the right moment.
From 2015 onward, European authorities tracked a pattern: money laundered through legitimate businesses, and a web of connections that allowed cocaine shipments to move from the Americas into Europe via Spain. In some cases, Montenegrin crews and Canary Islands routes were involved, illustrating the mafia’s adaptable logistics.
The canal for coca and cannabis trade remains strategically placed by Spain’s geography, serving as a hub for clandestine activity while officials emphasize the need for persistent oversight and strong cooperation with international partners.
comfortable
Despite the heavy crackdowns, the appeal of Spain persists for organized crime. Law enforcement highlights that some major operations disrupt only a portion of the network, with other factions continuing to adapt. A notable surge in anti-mafia activity has kept up pressure in coastal and inland regions alike.
In recent seasons, alerts from international networks and regional anti-mafia units have kept investigators vigilant. The focus remains on disrupting supply chains, freezing assets, and tightening border controls to prevent the movement of people and money that sustain these criminal organizations.
Police continue to monitor the networks intensively, tracking the movement of suspects and the flow of cash. The goal is to dismantle the infrastructure that supports trafficking, money laundering, and coercive control over small businesses and real estate markets.