Joint operation of 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 CCAA 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, luxury jewelry and 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. capitals. A total of 38 people have been arrested, of which 23 have been imprisoned for belonging to a criminal organization of Chinese origin. In addition, a total of 30 searches have been carried out at 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 ton of marijuana prepared for shipment abroad. Likewise, a total of twelve vehicles - some of them high-end -, luxury jewelry and watches, as well as other effects and documents have been seized. 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 carried out.

Chinese organized crime

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

This dismantled group was hierarchical and had a high degree of specialization and professionalism. It was structured in cells in charge of massive cultivation in 'indoor' type plantations in industrial warehouses and large isolated homes. It also had other facilities where the packaging was carried out and prepared for shipment abroad through parcel companies.

Distribution to other European countries

Researchers have been able to detect how this type of Chinese criminal organizations have taken on the cultivation and acquisition of this substance in Spain, to later package it and distribute it to other neighboring 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 settle, trying to go unnoticed and making it difficult for the different police forces to detect them. Despite this, the coordination established between the three bodies during the operation has allowed the identification and dismantling of this mafia group.

Money laundering and evasion

Using the same channels established for the shipment of narcotic substances, other members of the criminal organization 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 up to half a million euros monthly. On the other hand, and despite the enormous economic profit reported from their criminal activities, they use complementary systems to channel these benefits, making economic compensations, avoiding the Spanish economic space at all times.

During the searches, 160,000 euros were found hidden in double bottoms, which were going to be packaged and sent to countries such as Italy and Portugal. Together with the arrests made during the operation, around half a million euros have been intercepted, it is estimated that this was also the monthly amount that the criminal organization took out of Spain.

The detainees, some of them in an irregular situation, are charged with crimes of criminal organization, 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 from other Chinese citizens, stolen or lent by other members of the organization, thus avoiding obtaining their real identity.

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

Filming of operation (to download the video you must enter the following web address): https://we.tl/t-ja9hjV7HLo