In cooperation with Europol and within operation Fit, the Civil Guard dismantled an acquaintance criminal organization focused on smuggling large quantities of cocaine from South America to Europe. The group, known as The Faruku clan, had 21 properties searched across Cádiz, Málaga, Madrid, Barcelona, and Toledo. Seventeen people were arrested, including the organization’s core members, with about 20 more subjects earmarked for questioning or ongoing inquiries.
A Civil Guard note explains that the investigation linked the organization to numerous illicit activities. Roughly 10,000 kilograms of cocaine and 10,000 kilograms of cannabis were traced across various European countries, with a notable seizure of two tons of cocaine at the port of Algeciras in January 2022.
To date, authorities have seized 25 vehicles and 22 properties for precautionary purposes, with a value exceeding 4.2 million euros. Accounts and assets belonging to 14 individuals and 30 companies have also been blocked.
The operation began in September 2021 when agents observed a group preparing to smuggle a large cocaine shipment hidden inside a container at Algeciras Port (Cádiz).
This was confirmed in January 2022, when two tons of cocaine concealed in a container were seized at the port of Guayaquil (Ecuador) onboard a frozen seafood shipment. The intervention revealed that the drug’s organizers belonged to an organization under investigation.
From that moment, investigators carried out painstaking work to identify and locate members, determine their positions within the hierarchy, and reveal the leadership structure.
In the process, it emerged that the organization orchestrated other attempted cocaine shipments intercepted by police in Italy, Belgium, Greece, Portugal, the Netherlands, and Spain over the past two years.
In addition to arrests during the operation, about 10,000 kilograms of cocaine were seized across Europe, and 39 individuals were arrested over this period. Separately, around 10,000 kilograms of cannabis were seized in Portugal. The operation suggested a plan to swap every pound of cannabis from Morocco for one kilo of cocaine in South America, rather than the usual distribution pattern.
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The Civil Guard notes that the kilo-to-kilo practice is uncommon and typically used by well-resourced criminal networks capable of moving goods between South America and Europe. In these arrangements, cannabis and cocaine are traded in a way that exploits price differentials at origin and destination.
The Faruku clan is largely composed of ethnic Albanians with strong family ties and several years of residence in Spain. The group has numerous records, including murders mainly in Madrid and along the Costa del Sol, with indictments across Europe. Its leader, Kreshnik Budlla, also known as Niko, has faced multiple requests from authorities and remains at large.
The Civil Guard states that the clan held a hierarchical core whose members directed and coordinated drug-trafficking operations. They personally oversaw sensitive tasks such as removing drugs from sea containers and moving shipments to security posts within the organization.
Investigations showed a robust logistical backbone enabling operations worldwide. In Spain, the organization relied on a network of Spaniards, including some businessmen and self-employed individuals, who provided means and cover to facilitate drug entry, from chartering vehicles and ships to storing substances and using front companies to import legal goods that concealed drug inventories.
The network’s existence depended on critical cooperation among criminal groups identified during the inquiry, with communications linking the clan’s leaders and key Calabrian mafia figures.
Yet, alliances were not always fruitful. After the January 2022 Algeciras cocaine seizure, Ergys Dashi, a member of the Albanian clan, was killed the following day in Guayaquil by two assailants while dining in a restaurant. Reports indicate this violence connected to the port incident and the handling of drugs in Latin America.
Information suggests Dashi acted as a broker between European criminal networks and Latin American drug lords, a role tied to the loss of the Algeciras shipment.
The clan’s leadership included figures who used forged passports and numerous false identities from various European countries, complicating the investigative process. The leader, Kreshnik Budilla, alias Niko, was found to possess more than ten fake IDs, complicating coordination across national police efforts.
Investigators also uncovered that Budilla attempted to pose as a police inspector in his home country, cultivating research credentials across the European Union. A badge and a uniform seen on his vehicle trips through Spain pointed to attempts at evading capture.
Photographs recovered during the operation depicted Budilla donning a Civil Guard uniform, a tactic meant to mislead authorities as investigations progressed.
The Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Team (EDOA) of the Algeciras Command Judicial Police Organic Unit (UOPJ) led the inquiry, supported by the Citizen Security Unit (Usecic) and the Nucleus of Services. The deployment involved more than 250 officers from units including the Special Response Unit, the Rapid Action Group, the Regional Analysis and Intelligence Center Against Drug Trafficking, Sinology, and Civil Guard commands in Malaga, Madrid, Barcelona, and Toledo.
The case was overseen by the 4th Investigation Court of Algeciras and coordinated by the Campo de Gibraltar Drug Enforcement Office.