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The criminal organization considered the largest financial entity for drug trafficking in Europe has been dismantled

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 during the operation a vehicle warming workshop has been dismantled
  • Since 2020, the organization would have 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 transportation and cryptocurrency transactions between Spain and twenty from 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 for 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 during the operation a vehicle warming workshop has been dismantled. The proceedings have been directed by the Central Investigation Court No. 1 and the Special Anti-Drug Prosecutor's Office.

Since 2020, the organization would have 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 it is estimated that it would exceed 300 million, through systems clearing, money transportation 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, the United Arab Emirates.

Operations headquarters in a restaurant in Cobo Calleja

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

The investigators detected 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 coming mainly from some businesses run by Chinese citizens in the area. To avoid possible overturns by other organizations or seizures due to police inspections, the restaurant was monitored 24 hours a day and large amounts of money were not accumulated in the safe. The 'hawalladares' organization also carried out home deliveries and collections of money with the most prominent members of the main criminal groups dedicated to drug trafficking.

After investigations carried out for two years, the agents have managed to seize 2,420,000 euros that were transported both by members of the 'hawalladares' organization and by members of its clientele network. It has also been proven that the plot was financing the continuous purchase of stashes of drugs 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 unraveled 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 how the 'hawalladares' organization would be responsible for the movement of more than 32 million euros per year using the 'hawala' system, estimating that this amount could exceed 300 million euros annually. In addition to using this old monetary transfer system, the organization would have 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 in Europe, it requested the organization located in Spain to collect the cash generated by the sale and send it to through cryptocurrencies. Because the organization located in Spain did not have the necessary structure to cover these payments in cryptocurrencies, it requested the services of third organizations that sent the virtual money to the addresses provided by the Colombian-Lebanese organization, all of this at exchange of receiving a commission.

Creation of a company to launder profits

The police investigations also showed how the leader of the organization, through his lawyer and right-hand man, created a company in his name and acquired different licenses and vehicles using the money obtained from the organization's illegal activities, thereby achieving not only launder the profits obtained, but also achieve a fully structured business that would in turn serve as a transportation system for the monetary compensation managed by the organization and providing greater security in said transportation. In addition, the ringleader also planned to acquire luxury homes in Dubai (United Arab Emirates) to relocate a large part of the economic benefits obtained from the illegal activities carried out.

21 searches and 32 detainees

Finally, last September, in a device in which more than 120 agents participated, 21 searches were carried out 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 Álava. .

As a result of the operation, 32 people have been arrested, and 485,205 euros have been seized, which is 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 making 'caletas' has also been discovered and 19 virtual currency accounts valued at 1,500,000 euros have been blocked.

Prison with and without bail has been ordered for eleven of those investigated, including the leader and the lawyer of the organization.

Filming of operation (to download the video you must enter the following web address):

https://we.tl/t-J5uRhNKBrL