Joint operation between the Tax Agency, Civil Guard and National Police

• 38 people have been arrested and a total of 30 searches have been carried out in the autonomous communities of Madrid and Asturias and in the provinces of Salamanca, Toledo, Lugo and Las Palmas
• More than half a ton of marijuana, 2 kilograms of methamphetamine, 160,000 euros in cash, seven high-end vehicles, jewelry and luxury watches, as well as two modified firearms have been seized.

February 8, 2021 .- The Tax Agency, the National Police and the Civil Guard have dismantled in a joint operation a Chinese mafia allegedly dedicated to international drug trafficking and money laundering. A total of 38 people have been arrested, of whom 23 have been sent to prison for belonging to a criminal organisation of Chinese origin. In addition, a total of 30 searches have been carried out in homes, commercial establishments and parcel delivery companies.

The operation has also led to the dismantling of three indoor plantations and the seizure of more than half a tonne of marijuana prepared for shipment abroad. A total of twelve vehicles have also been seized – some of them high-end –, jewellery and luxury watches, as well as other effects and documents. This operation has been carried out in the autonomous communities of Madrid and Asturias and in the provinces of Salamanca, Toledo and Lugo, where both searches and arrests have been carried out, and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, where one arrest was made.

Chinese Organized Crime

In April 2018, after detecting the shipment of large quantities of marijuana to France for subsequent sale, an investigation was launched that placed a Chinese criminal organisation behind this type of activity, using a network of postal parcel companies run by Chinese citizens as an intermediary facilitating their illegal activity.

This dismantled group was hierarchical and had a high degree of specialization and professionalism. It was structured into cells responsible for mass cultivation in 'indoor' plantations in industrial warehouses and large isolated homes. It also had other facilities where packaging was carried out and shipments abroad were prepared by courier companies.

Distribution to other European countries

Investigators have been able to detect how this type of Chinese criminal organisation has taken over the cultivation and acquisition of this substance in Spain, to subsequently package it and distribute it to other neighbouring countries such as France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy or the Netherlands.

These organizations adopt a high degree of opacity and secrecy in the communities and areas where they are based, trying to go unnoticed and making their detection difficult by the various police forces. However, the coordination established between the three bodies during the operation has allowed the identification and dismantling of this mafia group.

Money laundering and money evasion

Using the same channels established for the shipment of narcotic substances, other members of the criminal organisation were dedicated to sending large amounts of cash to countries such as Italy or Portugal, having made seizures of up to 100,000 euros in those states, thanks to the cooperation of the Guardia di Finanza, in the case of Italy, and the Judicial Police in Portugal. It is estimated that they could have been evading taxes of up to half a million euros a month. On the other hand, and despite the enormous economic profits reported by their criminal activities, they use complementary systems to channel these profits, making economic compensations while avoiding the Spanish economic space at all times.

During the searches, 160,000 euros were found hidden in hidden bottoms, which were to be packaged and sent to countries such as Italy and Portugal. Together with the seizures made during the operation, it was possible to intercept around half a million euros, which is estimated to be the monthly amount that the criminal organisation took out of Spain.

The detainees, some of whom were in an irregular situation, are charged with organised crime, crimes against public health, usurpation of civil status and other accessory crimes that allowed them to perfect their modus operandi. Those who were in an irregular situation used documents belonging to other Chinese citizens, stolen or borrowed from other members of the organization, thus avoiding obtaining their real identity.

The operation was carried out by units of the Regional Customs Surveillance Area of Madrid, belonging to the Tax Agency, in joint operation with the National Police and the Civil Guard. 

Operation filming (to download the video, enter the following web address): https://we.tl/t-ja9hjV7HLo