‘Luxury life’ drug gang brought down
Police forces from several countries worked together in the operation
A RESIDENT living a life of luxury in Altea was allegedly a leading member of an international gang smuggling large quantities of drugs and money, which has been taken down by National Police working with German, French and Dutch police, Eurojust and Europol.
The operation concluded with 22 arrests and 37 simultaneous searches in Spain, France, the Netherlands and Romania. A National Police spokesman said they started investigating in August 2021, soon establishing that the leader of one of the branches was a Turkish-Dutch citizen in Altea who allegedly controlled cocaine and marijuana dealing along the whole east coast, laundering profits through the network. Members acquired drugs in Spain for distribution to Europe via commercial routes by road in vehicles with hidden compartments.
The police consulted Europol and found that two suspects had been involved in two seizures of over 400kg of marijuana
in France and Germany, and belonged to a criminal network moving profits from drug dealing in vehicles with hidden compartments, according to the spokesman.
In February 2022, the National Police held a meeting in Madrid with the Dutch Fiscal Information and Investigation Service, police from Nice (France) and the German BKA, which resulted in Eurojust setting up a joint investigation team between France and the Netherlands.
The investigation established that gang members enjoyed a high standard of living in large houses in the most exclusive urbanisations in Altea and Marbella (Málaga), drove luxury cars and wore watches and jewellery worth hundreds of thousands of euros.
“Nevertheless, they kept a low profile and managed not to arouse suspicion from the social circles they moved in or the police,” the spokesman said.
After over a year of investigation, the various police forces set the date to move in. One day before, one of the prime suspects was arrested on the border of France with Spain, with £594,140 (€675,000) hidden in a false floor of a high-end car destined for Marbella. Nine of the 37 searches, coordinated by Eurojust, were in Spain, in Alicante and Málaga provinces, and involved visiting members of the other police forces. The six suspects arrested in Spain included four of the alleged ringleaders, all of whom have been remanded in custody by the High Court (AN) in Madrid.
The searches in Spain seized 1.3 kilos of heroin and over 55kg of cocaine, €677,240 in cash, three firearms and other prohibited weapons, 30 mobile phones, five vehicles and numerous luxury watches.
At a home in the Netherlands owned by one of the suspects arrested in Spain, officers found almost €1.5M in cash and a large number of luxury objects, including a collection of alcoholic drinks worth over €1M. There were also 13 arrests in France, three in the Netherlands and one in Romania.
The operation seized a total of €2.6 million in cash, and a large quantity of valuables.