Joint operation by the Tax Agency and the National Police

• The investigation has made it possible to seize 1,000 kilos of marijuana buds and 37 kilos of cocaine, dismantle two laboratories for the processing and distribution of drugs and seize three submachine guns and several pistols, as well as luxury goods for an amount exceeding six million. euros

• The organization had a structure of companies in Spain, Colombia, Switzerland and Portugal to launder money from its criminal activities.

• The police device, in which more than 200 agents participated, ended with the arrest of 24 people and the carrying out of 13 searches in the provinces of Madrid and Guadalajara.

June 4, 2022.- The Customs Surveillance Service of the Tax Agency, in a joint operation with Agents of the National Police, has dismantled an international criminal organization dedicated to drug trafficking linked with Mexican cartels. The investigation has made it possible to seize 1,000 kilos of marijuana buds and 37 kilos of cocaine, dismantle two laboratories for the processing and distribution of drugs and seize three submachine guns and several pistols, as well as luxury goods for an amount exceeding six million. euros. Furthermore, as a result of this operation, European investigation orders and letters rogatory have been sent to other countries. The organization had a structure of companies in Spain, Colombia, Switzerland and Portugal to launder money from its criminal activities. The police operation, in which more than 200 agents participated, ended with the arrest of 24 people and the carrying out of 13 searches in the provinces of Madrid and Guadalajara.

The investigation began at the end of 2020 when the arrival to Madrid of several Mexican citizens from Sinaloa was detected, who quickly settled in different luxury homes. Shortly after, the agents observed that the new arrivals began to work in large marijuana plantations located in the province of Guadalajara, where they received repeated visits from people linked to drug trafficking.

A family clan linked to Mexican drug cartels

As the investigations progressed, the agents identified a family clan, linked to Mexican drug cartels, that had introduced more than ten million euros in cash and investment gold into our country with the aim of settling in Spain. Those investigated began to buy dozens of luxury vehicles and 'high-end' homes, as well as to acquire several businesses and establish companies whose purpose, as would later be proven, was to channel the profits obtained from the sale of narcotic substances. Likewise, the members of the organization did not hesitate to buy the wills of different officials to help them settle and obtain documentation.

After several police actions, it became evident that the family clan was related to people, both Spanish and foreign, with records and convictions linked to the sale of narcotic substances, in a way that facilitated their entry into a new market that was not theirs.

They had marijuana plantations that they exploited through companies established in Spain, Portugal and Switzerland.

At first, the network based its business model on establishing companies in Spain, Portugal and Switzerland for the exploitation of cannabis crops. In this sense, they had marijuana plantations in different provinces of Spain, whose purpose was the extraction of products derived from CBD in laboratories in Switzerland and Portugal. After arduous efforts, the agents seized 60 tons of plants, a fact that motivated the organization to invest in new cultivation systems based on the creation of containers with intelligent software that would allow them to obtain crops in less than three months. Some of the Mexican members of the criminal group tried to acquire this business for a significant sum of money, although police actions frustrated them.

Subsequently, investigators located several warehouses where processed marijuana, which had been grown in large greenhouses of more than 4,000 square meters, was vacuum packaged and distributed by different means to buyers, hiding it in double bottoms of tables and other furniture that were shipped. By parcel.

They introduced cocaine base in coffee packages through 'mules'

As the investigation progressed, the agents detected the arrival in our country of people from South America, whom the organization used as 'mules' to introduce cocaine base in packages of coffee. The drug was processed, packaged and screen-printed in two laboratories in the province of Madrid and subsequently sold to people who came from Croatia and Holland with whom they had previously closed business. In addition, they also had other distribution networks through Chinese citizens and other sellers, located in different locations in Madrid, who even introduced the narcotic substance into prisons.

On the other hand, the investigation has proven an overwhelming movement of capital. They constantly changed homes (all of them luxury) and were dedicated to buying and selling jewelry and sports vehicles whose prices exceeded 500,000 euros. This was due to the laundering of the benefits they obtained illicitly and, in addition, it was a security measure to avoid being located in a specific area.

24 detainees and 13 searches in the provinces of Madrid and Guadalajara

In the middle of last May, the agents carried out a police operation in which more than 200 officers participated. The operation allowed the complete dismantling of the organization and the arrest of those responsible, locating in the home of the leader of the network a cocaine laboratory in the process of producing more than 37 kilos of substance.

Likewise, they carried out 13 searches in different locations in Madrid (eight) and Guadalajara (five), and eight inspections in the provinces of Madrid (five) and Malaga (three). As a result of the searches, the agents seized 1,000 kilos of marijuana buds, 37 kilos of cocaine, ten weapons, 105,116 euros in cash, as well as 17 vehicles and four homes (valued at seven million euros), among other items. In addition, as a result of the operation, two laboratories for processing cocaine and two greenhouses for growing marijuana have been dismantled, and 20 bank accounts have been blocked.