Joint operation of the Tax Agency and the National Police

• In an operation in which more than 800 agents have participated in a coordinated manner, a total of 32 people have been arrested - 13 in Spain, 18 in Ecuador and one in the United Kingdom - belonging to a criminal structure based in Ecuador which is attributed with the seizure of 3,210 kilos of cocaine in various countries, as well as 200 kilos of the drug introduced into Spain through the port of Algeciras.
• 22 searches have been carried out in Spain, resulting in the seizure of almost 500,000 euros in cash, a handgun, 12 high-end vehicles, 17 properties worth 12 million euros, 88 financial products blocked and four legal entities seized.
• In Ecuador, 40 searches have been carried out, allowing the seizure of more than 2,300,000 dollars, nine vehicles, nine firearms, 22 properties and multiple financial products, in addition to the intervention of six legal entities, allowing the detection of laundered assets worth 36 million euros.

February 16, 2024.- Customs Surveillance officials from the Tax Agency and agents from the National Police, as well as the National Police of Ecuador, have dismantled a criminal organization allegedly dedicated to the international trafficking of cocaine from Ecuador through fruit containers, and to money laundering using a complex business network.

The investigation began in 2020 when an Italian businessman of Argentine origin, based in the town of Marbella, was detected in our country. He controlled a wide range of companies - companies dedicated to the production and export of bananas from Ecuador to Europe, sports centres in Marbella, shopping centres in Granada and hospitality and nightlife businesses - in which signs of hidden financing behind a legal business appearance were detected.

The investigations carried out by the anti-drug units and the financial analysis carried out by police experts in money laundering, both from the National Police and the Tax Agency, made it possible to establish the existence of links between the suspect and drug trafficking by sea, which was communicated to the Special Anti-Drug Prosecutor's Office of the National Court, which took over the investigation, authorising a series of investigative measures, which were subsequently taken over by the Central Court of Instruction No. 1 of the National Court.

The complexity of the investigation required international cooperation, coordinated at the judicial level by the Special Anti-Drug Prosecutor's Office, and at the police level by Europol, as well as the collaboration of the Spanish Interior Ministers in Ecuador and Russia, and the Interior Attachés in Albania, Belgium, the Netherlands and Turkey. This marked the beginning of a fluid exchange of information with the National Police of Ecuador, in cooperation with the Specialized Prosecutor's Office against Transnational Organized Crime of Ecuador, all through the Network of Anti-Drug Prosecutors of Ibero-America (RFAI) and the Central Court of Instruction number one.

Through fruit exporting companies

The investigation revealed that the criminal organisation was allegedly led by an Albanian citizen based in Ecuador and by an Italian businessman living in Marbella. Both of them ran fruit producing and exporting companies from Ecuador to the whole world, with a business volume of hundreds of containers exported per year, which provided perfect coverage for their comfortable economic situation, with million-dollar expenses such as the acquisition of properties in exclusive locations in Marbella, Guayaquil or Dubai, or the opening of new business avenues, such as nightlife or sports, and the enjoyment of a very high standard of living.

The investigations carried out by the agents revealed that both individuals took advantage of their companies' exports to hide cocaine in containers, for which they had the collaboration of personnel at the ports or businessmen dedicated to the import of fruit, who simulated a legitimate trade relationship to introduce the drugs into their countries.

The organisation used various methods to ship the drug, but after the seizure in 2020 of more than 1,100 kilos of cocaine in one of its containers by the Dutch authorities, those investigated began to make small shipments of between 15 and 40 kilos of the drug, contaminating several containers to the same importer, and using the structure of the containers to hide the cocaine, so that, if it was intercepted, the exporting company would deny its involvement in the illicit shipment.

The organization was perfectly structured, with the Albanian businessman in charge of introducing the drugs from Colombia to Ecuador, having, according to investigators, a contract with his Colombian suppliers to receive 4,000 kilos of cocaine per month, subsequently preparing the containers for shipment to various countries. To do this, they relied on people from the organization, both in the exporting companies they control, and in the port of Guayaquil itself, to ensure the departure of the containers.

The suspect based in Marbella was allegedly responsible for providing the logistics for his export companies to carry out cocaine shipments and coordinating the financial network aimed at money laundering, relying on a manager specialised in this area, carrying out various cash collections to introduce them into the legal market.

An expert dedicated to money laundering

For the money laundering activity, it relied on a complex financial network, which was designed and managed by an expert money launderer, based in Marbella, who facilitated the laundering of the illicit profits obtained, being the subject of a European Investigation Order from the authorities of the Netherlands, which has also been coordinated within the framework of this investigation.

Both businessmen contacted the people in charge of receiving the drugs in the various countries, negotiating the costs of the criminal operation, the distribution of profits, the collection of the money owed and other details. During the investigation, the agents detected money deliveries in Barcelona between Ecuadorian citizens and the Spanish businessman's entourage, leading to the seizure of one million euros hidden inside a vehicle in 2021.

The investigation has allowed drug shipments from the organization to be confirmed to the Netherlands, Belgium, Russia, Romania, Albania and Spain, with a total of 3,210 kilograms of cocaine being seized between 2019 and 2022 in various countries and 200 kilos of the narcotic in Spain. In our country, the organisation had two businessmen to carry out the introduction of drugs through the port of Algeciras, who have been arrested and linked to drug trafficking in previous operations.

The investigation required extensive analysis of international financial operations to unravel the complex structure that provided cover for the investment of illicit profits in our country. They used complex simulated international commercial operations that allowed them to create an appearance of legality for the illegally obtained funds and that, once introduced into the economic system, allowed them to invest in both real estate and fully operational businesses, which in turn allowed them, through their economic exploitation, to obtain completely laundered profits.

These structures, allegedly created and designed by the financial expert and managed by a whole series of front men and trusted people of the main suspects, made it possible to conceal the true ownership of the assets acquired, with the heads of the organisation being the ones who really controlled and ultimately benefited from them.  

The analysis by the investigators has revealed laundered assets worth 36 million dollars in Ecuador and 12 million euros in Spain and has detected how several of those under investigation are laundering their illicit profits through the acquisition of crypto assets.

800 agents coordinated in 62 entries and searches

The investigation culminated on February 6 in an operation involving more than 800 police officers in Spain and Ecuador, carrying out 62 raids and searches (40 in Ecuador and 22 in Spain) in a coordinated manner, with the participation of police officers from both countries in the operation, which has allowed the seizure of a large amount of money, weapons and effects.

In the searches carried out in Spain in the provinces of Malaga, Barcelona, Granada, Madrid, Valencia, Cadiz and Seville, almost 500,000 euros in cash, more than 12,000 dollars, cash in other foreign currencies, a handgun, 12 vehicles, high-end watches, mobile phones and computer equipment were seized. Property worth around 12 million euros has also been seized, 88 financial products have been blocked and four companies have been placed under judicial intervention.

In Ecuador, more than 2.3 million dollars, nine vehicles, nine firearms, 22 properties and multiple financial products have been immobilized and six legal entities have been intervened, allowing the detection of laundered assets of 36 million euros.

The investigation has led to the arrest of 32 people, 18 in Ecuador, one in the United Kingdom and 13 in the Spanish provinces of Malaga (7), Barcelona (2), Madrid (2), Cadiz (1) and Valencia (1).

Specialised Europol intelligence personnel and members of the FIOD of the Netherlands also participated in the operation, as part of the investigation against the organisation's financial manager.

The investigation, which has been financed by European funds through the Internal Security Funds of the European Commission, is still ongoing, gathering new clues and expanding the number of people linked to the organization, following the results obtained in the searches carried out.

Funded through EU financial mechanisms

Agents of the Spanish National Police, with the support of Europol, carried out these joint operations in collaboration with Ecuador and aligned with the European Union Security Strategy. This strategy focuses on four key points: establishing a future-proof security environment, combating emerging threats, protecting European citizens from terrorism and organised crime, and forging a robust European security ecosystem.

To achieve these objectives, the European Commission's Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs (DG HOME), together with EU agencies and specific EU funds, such as the Internal Security Funds (ISF), They support Member States in the fight against criminal threats through coordinated operations aimed at dismantling criminal networks and their business models. The interventions carried out under this scheme have been co-financed by the European Union, as part of the support to Member States to combat criminal networks that constitute the most significant threats to the security of EU citizens and the Union as a whole.