Joint operation of the Tax Agency and the National Police

• The Customs Surveillance Service of the Tax Agency and the National Police have developed the second phase of the 'Dubbing' operation, dismantling the infrastructure that a family clan would have created for the laundering of money from international drug trafficking of marijuana and cocaine.
• The exploitation of the first phase took place last May with the arrest of six alleged members of the organization dedicated to the transport of marijuana from Granada to Germany and Holland, through double funds hidden in large trucks and through international shipments in legal parcel delivery companies
• The amount laundered at the moment has been recorded at 907,000 euros and financial products and properties valued at 1,425,000 euros have been blocked, the latter distributed in real estate worth close to 960,000 euros, as well as vehicles and jet skis worth 465,000 euros.
• Furthermore, the investigation has discovered that the return trips of these trailers were used to introduce cocaine into Spain, thereby obtaining extraordinary economic benefits.

October 20, 2022.- The Customs Surveillance Service of the Tax Agency and the National Police have carried out the second phase of the 'Dubbing' operation, coordinated by the Delegate Prosecutor in Granada of the Anti-Drug Prosecutor's Office based in Madrid, in which the laundering of 907,000 euros from international drug trafficking of marijuana and cocaine has been discovered. Different financial products and properties worth 1,425,000 euros have also been blocked, divided into real estate assets valued at around 960,000 euros and two jet skis valued at 465,000 euros.

Shipping of marijuana and cocaine in double bottoms of semi-trailers and through parcel delivery companies

In the first phase, carried out last May, officials from the Customs Surveillance Service of the Tax Agency and agents from the Organized Crime and Economic and Fiscal Crime Groups -UDEF- of the National Police arrested six alleged members of the organization. which would be dedicated to shipping marijuana to Germany and Holland, hiding it in double bottoms made in trailers, in which later, on return trips, cocaine would be introduced to bring it to Spain. Another method used by this criminal group to supply the European marijuana market would be through legal parcel delivery companies. All this results in obtaining extraordinary economic benefits.

The agents searched two apartments, one of them in Granada and another in Maracena, where a 'grow shop' was also searched that would have been established as a meeting and planning place for drug trafficking. Then they seized nearly 80 kilos of marijuana buds, more than 2,200 euros in cash, a firearm, various ammunition and vehicles whose value exceeded 240,000 euros, in addition to two tractor heads and two rigid trailers, as well as 12 kilos of cannabis sativa intercepted in a package when it was being sent through a legal parcel delivery company.

Hidden wealth through front men

In this second phase of the investigation, which began in December 2021, the economic framework that supported the family clan to launder funds from drug trafficking has been dismantled through the creation of two companies in Spain established through a solid personal infrastructure, discovering that the leader of the organization, arrested in May, would be avoiding being the owner of assets in the event of possible police or judicial actions, as he could be subject to seizure or confiscation of said assets. Instead, and to hide the assets, he would have used front men, people he trusted most, from his closest family environment, to title assets purchased with the profits of criminal activity.

During the period investigated, between 2017 and 2022, money laundering operations worth 907,000 euros were carried out, the alleged perpetrator was arrested and six more members of the organization were investigated. The evidence found in the economic-asset investigation also shows that the criminal activity would not be limited to drug trafficking, but that the funds obtained illicitly would be reinvested in the legal economic circuit/trafficking, purchasing especially real estate. , trying to hide both the true owner of the same and the origin and provenance of the funds used for their purchase through a business structure and mixing the funds from criminal activity with commercial activities.

This family clan would use a very specialized structure and a whole series of laundering modus operandi have been detected for laundering funds of illicit origin, such as the acquisition of real estate and vehicles both in national territory and in other countries, as well as the use of front men and companies created ad hoc for the introduction of funds that were mixed with their legal activity to try to make their differentiation impossible.

The agents have blocked different financial products, as well as real estate properties (homes and plots) valued at 1,425,000 euros, increasing the value of the real estate assets to around 960,000 euros, as well as vehicles and two jet skis for an amount of 465,000. euros.