Spain Spanish police bust sailboat drug gang
Spanish police have busted a drug gang that allegedly smuggled cocaine from South America to Europe on sailboats. The police confiscated 1.5 tons of cocaine and eight sailboats, as they announced on Friday.
19.07.2024, 14:27
SDA
The investigation was reportedly launched in June 2020 by the Spanish and British police, and the European police authority Europol was also involved. Investigators assume that the sailboats brought the drugs from Brazil, Colombia, Barbados and Panama to Spain, for example to the Canary Islands, Valencia and Andalusia.
Following investigations in Spain and eleven other countries, a total of 50 suspects have been arrested. According to the information, 26 suspects were arrested in Spain, including 16 Norwegians. According to the police, among them was a former bank robber who had robbed banks and money transporters and had been in prison for 15 years.
24 other suspects were arrested in Norway, Bulgaria, Great Britain, Panama, Trinidad and Tobago, Portugal and Colombia. According to Europol, most of the arrests were made on June 24, including the arrest of the alleged leader of the gang.
The man arrested in Norway was known as "the Professor". According to the police, it is assumed "that he had been active in drug trafficking for more than 20 years" and during this time had "earned the full trust of the Colombian and Mexican cartels", with whom he collaborated in cocaine smuggling.
According to the police, the gang worked in particular with members of the so-called Balkan cartel, which is regarded as one of the most important international players in drug trafficking. The drug traffickers led a luxurious life on the Costa del Sol in southern Spain.
