Operation "Frankenstein"

• The nine-year prison sentence of the main suspect for drug trafficking and membership in a criminal organisation, as well as a fine of 433,000 euros still unpaid and the highly luxurious nature of his properties led the Customs Surveillance Service to carry out a property investigation.
• Cryptocurrency mining farm seized and 15 properties blocked
• Six other people from his closest family circle were investigated in the same operation

August 1, 2024.- The Customs Surveillance Service of the Tax Agency has arrested BVV, a well-known Galician 'narco', in Ribadumia (Pontevedra), for an alleged crime of money laundering, while six people from his closest family environment remain under investigation. Within the framework of this operation, called 'Frankenstein', the police force of the Tax Agency has managed to prove, after a complex asset investigation, a money laundering operation of more than one million euros. During the searches carried out, a crypto-asset mining farm has been seized, as well as abundant computer equipment and documentation, and a total of 15 properties have been blocked.

The BVV link She has been known to be involved in drug trafficking for years, with investigations dating back to 2002 and 2003, when she was barely 21 years old. In September 2023, following an investigation led by Customs Surveillance (operation 'Loureiro'), he was finally sentenced to nine years in prison and a fine of 433,000 euros, as the perpetrator of two crimes of drug trafficking and belonging to a criminal group.

The sentencing ruling found that there had been evidence of cocaine stockpiling and subsequent distribution between at least 2017 and 2019. His stepbrother, who is also under investigation in the present operation against money laundering, was also convicted for the same crimes.

In turn, BVV He is being tried in the Provincial Court of Pontevedra for the 'Pantin' operation, in which he is linked to 3,800 kg of cocaine that arrived on Galician coasts aboard the ship 'Karar' in 2020.

Money laundering with the relatives of front men

This long criminal record, coupled with the fact that the fine of 433,000 euros has still not been paid, led the Tax Agency's Customs Surveillance to launch a complex asset investigation that revealed illicit enrichment that far exceeds one million euros.

The investigation, carried out entirely by the Combined Customs Surveillance Unit of the Tax Agency in Vigo, focused on the property acquisitions that BVV carried out using people from the closest family environment as front men from 2004 to 2021.

The operation had the active participation of the Anti-Drug Prosecutor's Office of Pontevedra as a complainant following the reports prepared by Customs Surveillance of Vigo and resulted in the arrest, on July 23, of BVV, as well as the status of investigated but not detained of another six people from his closest circle.

Cryptoasset mining

For the operational exploitation, the Intervention and Reaction Group of the General Subdirectorate of Customs Surveillance Operations was counted on and culminated with five entries and searches in homes and premises in the towns of Vilanova de Arousa (Pontevedra) and Ribadumia, in which numerous computer equipment and documentation were seized as well as a conglomerate of graphic cards used for the mining of cryptoassets that BVV had placed vending machines in the attic of a premises in Ribadumia that he exploited commercially.

All the seized items are being analysed by the investigative unit, while the court has adopted precautionary measures prohibiting the sale of 15 properties in order to guarantee possible convictions.

The Customs Surveillance Service of the Tax Agency considers the investigation of assets and acts of concealment of profits by the leaders of criminal organizations to be a priority in the fight against drug trafficking, as it is the most effective mechanism for their neutralization.