Joint operation of the Tax Agency, National Police and EUROPOL with the collaboration of EUROJUST

• 32 people have been arrested and almost 3,000,000 euros, 575 kilos of hashish, 276 kilos of marijuana, eleven high-end vehicles, seven luxury watches, a semi-automatic pistol have been seized and a marijuana plantation with 995 plants has been dismantled.
• 19 cryptocurrency accounts with an approximate value of 1,500,000 euros have been blocked and a vehicle 'cacheteado' workshop has been dismantled during the operation
• Since 2020, the organization has reportedly carried out deliveries and collections of money to finance drug trafficking, returning the profits obtained, valued at more than 32 million euros per year, through compensation systems, money transport and cryptocurrency transactions between Spain and twenty countries on four continents.

October 14, 2022.- Customs Surveillance officials of the Tax Agency, in a joint operation with the National Police and EUROPOL, and with the collaboration of EUROJUST, have dismantled a criminal organization considered to be the largest financial entity of drug trafficking in Europe. 32 people have been arrested and almost 3,000,000 euros, 575 kilos of hashish, 276 kilos of marijuana, eleven high-end vehicles, seven luxury watches, a semi-automatic pistol have been seized, and a marijuana plantation with 995 plants has been dismantled. 19 cryptocurrency accounts with an approximate value of 1,500,000 euros have been blocked and a vehicle retrieval workshop has been dismantled during the operation. The investigation was conducted by the Central Court of Instruction No. 1 and the Special Anti-Drug Prosecutor's Office.

Since 2020, the organization has reportedly carried out deliveries and collections of money to finance drug trafficking and return the profits obtained in an amount that is credited at more than 32 million euros per year, but is estimated to exceed 300 million, through compensation systems, money transport and cryptocurrency transactions between Spain and Italy, France, the Netherlands, Germany, Finland, Belgium, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Denmark, Poland, Switzerland and Norway, as well as Morocco and the United Arab Emirates.

Headquarters of operations in a Cobo Calleja restaurant

The investigation began when the agents became aware of the existence of a criminal organisation, composed mostly of citizens of Syrian origin, which was led by a man who allegedly operated from Madrid and Toledo to finance drug trafficking for several drug trafficking organisations operating in Spain and abroad.

Investigators discovered that they had an operations headquarters located in a restaurant in an industrial estate in the Madrid town of Fuenlabrada, where customers came daily to collect money mainly from some businesses run by Chinese citizens in the area. To avoid possible raids by other organisations or seizures during police inspections, the restaurant was monitored 24 hours a day and large amounts of money were not stored in the safe. The 'hawalladars' organisation also made deliveries and collections of money from the homes of the most prominent members of the main criminal groups dedicated to drug trafficking.

Following investigations carried out over two years, agents have managed to seize 2,420,000 euros that were transported by members of the 'hawalladares' organisation and by members of their client network. It has also been possible to prove that the network was financing the continuous purchase of drug shipments destined for all of Europe, and they have been linked to two containers seized in 2020 and 2021 that were carrying four tons of cocaine.

During the investigation, the structures of some of the drug trafficking organizations most closely linked to the Syrian organization were uncovered and two seizures of 105 kilos of hashish and 275 kilos of marijuana were carried out, arresting the drug transporters.

Informal transfer of monetary funds through 'hawala'

The investigation has been able to prove that the 'hawalladares' organisation would be responsible for the movement of more than 32 million euros per year using the 'hawala' system, estimating that this amount could reach over 300 million euros per year. In addition to using this old money transfer system, the organization has reportedly evolved to a more sophisticated one, using virtual currencies as an alternative channel that allowed them to bypass national and international control mechanisms.

The agents were able to find out that once the Colombian-Lebanese organization obtained the benefits from the sale of the narcotic substance introduced into Europe, it asked the organization located in Spain to collect the cash generated by the sale and send it through cryptocurrencies. Because the organization located in Spain did not have the necessary structure to cover these cryptocurrency payments, it requested the services of third-party organizations that sent the virtual money to the addresses provided by the Colombian-Lebanese organization, all in exchange for receiving a commission.

Creation of a company to launder profits

Police investigations also revealed how the leader of the organisation, through his lawyer and right-hand man, created a company in his name and acquired various licences and vehicles using the money obtained from the organisation's illegal activities, thereby achieving not only the laundering of the profits obtained, but also the creation of a fully structured business that would also serve as a transport system for the monetary compensations managed by the organisation and providing them with greater security in said transport. In addition, the leader also planned to acquire luxury homes in Dubai (United Arab Emirates) in order to relocate a large part of the economic benefits obtained from the illegal activities carried out.

21 searches and 32 arrests

Last September, more than 120 officers participated in a raid that led to 21 searches in the provinces of Madrid and Toledo, as well as a police deployment that has also been extended to other provinces such as Malaga and Alava.

As a result of the operation, 32 people have been arrested and 485,205 euros have been seized, which are added to the more than 2.4 million previously seized, a semi-automatic pistol, 470 kilos of hashish, 1,235 kilos of marijuana buds, a plantation with 995 marijuana plants, eleven high-end vehicles, seven luxury watches; In addition, a mechanical workshop dedicated to the creation of 'caletas' has also been discovered and 19 virtual currency accounts valued at 1,500,000 euros have been blocked.

Eleven of those under investigation have been ordered to be held in prison with or without bail, including the leader and the lawyer of the organisation.