Canary Islands: 48 arrested in international cocaine gang bust
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Diverging Reports Breakdown
Cocaine smuggling ring used abandoned shipwreck to refuel high-speed “narco boats” police in Spain say
The ring is suspected of using 11 speedboats to pick up drugs from larger “mother ships” It is believed to be “one of the largest criminal organizations dedicated to cocaine trafficking,” police say. 48 people were arrested as part of the operation, which was carried out in cooperation with UK and U.S. forces. The bust was announced one day after the U.N. announced it had sanctioned six accused drug traffickers.
Police forces from several countries have dismantled an international drug trafficking ring that used what authorities called high-speed “narco boats” to smuggle large quantities of cocaine from Brazil and Colombia to Spain’s Canary Islands, Spanish police said Friday.
The ring is suspected of using 11 speedboats to pick up drugs from larger “mother ships” in different points in the Atlantic and then bring them to the archipelago located off northwestern Africa, police said in a statement. They also allegedly used an abandoned shipwreck as a refueling platform for the speedboats, authorities said.
It is believed to be “one of the largest criminal organizations dedicated to cocaine trafficking operating from South America to the Canary Islands” using this method, the statement added.
Officers arrested 48 people as part of the operation, which was carried out in cooperation with Britain’s National Crime Agency, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and pan-European police agency Europol.
The authorities have so far this year seized nearly 3,800 kilos of cocaine that was being smuggled by the gang, along with 19 boats and around 100,000 euros ($114,000) which belonged to the ring. Six properties and electronic and geolocation equipment were also seized, authorities said.
Police forces from Colombia, France, Portugal, Poland and Cape Verde also took part in the operation.
Spain is a major gateway to Europe for drug trafficking networks due to its ties to former colonies in Latin America and its proximity to Morocco, a top cannabis producer.
The bust was announced one day after the U.S. Treasury announced it had sanctioned six accused drug traffickers allegedly using boats and “narco subs” to traffic cocaine. Four Guyanese nationals and two Colombians — Yeison Andres Sanchez Vallejo and Manuel Salazar — were accused of allegedly trafficking tons of cocaine from South America to the United States, Europe and the Caribbean.
Canary Islands: 48 arrested in international cocaine gang bust
Raids across Canary Islands in major cocaine gang bust. Almost four tonnes of cocaine trafficked from Brazil and Colombia were seized. 48 suspects arrested in raids across Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria and Lanzarote. Spain’s Policia Nacional said the gang used 11 so-called narco boats to smuggle the drugs across the Atlantic.
4 hours ago Share Save Sean Seddon BBC News Share Save
Europol The EU police agency Europol released footage of suspects being arrested on the Spanish islands
A major cocaine smuggling operation that used a network of speedboats to transport drugs from South America to the Canary Islands has been taken down, police have said. Almost four tonnes of cocaine trafficked from Brazil and Colombia were seized and 48 suspects arrested in raids across Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria and Lanzarote. Spain’s Policia Nacional said the gang used 11 so-called narco boats to smuggle the drugs across the Atlantic in a complex operation that involved using an abandoned wreck at sea as a refuelling platform. Police forces from Europe, including the UK, as well as South America and the US were involved in planning the raids, dubbed Operation Black Shadow.
The UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) confirmed that a British national was among those arrested. Europol said the gang used speedboats “repeatedly, departing from strategic points in the Atlantic Ocean to a mother ship transporting the cocaine”. Investigators revealed the gang used “a complex encrypted communications system to evade law enforcement, including the use of satellite terminals, hard-to-trace phones and a coded language”. Police said the raids were months in the planning and saw 29 properties searched, 69 vehicles seized – including boats and jet skis – and cash and firearms recovered. Details of the raids shine a light on the complexity of the networks international drug smuggling gangs use to get narcotics into Europe, a major market for South American-based cartels.
Europol Police say €100,000 (£84,000/$114,000) and guns were found during the raids
World’s largest network of drug traffickers busted with raids across Spain including 13 on the Costa del Sol
Gang of criminals ran the largest network of drug traffickers in the world. One robber in its ranks: a Norwegian ex-convict who, after 15 years behind bars for robbing banks and armoured vans, turned to drug trafficking. The gang, which had been sending large shipments to Europe for years, relied on the ringleader to keep the operation going. The leader, known as The Professor (El Profesor), had the full confidence of the Colombian and Mexican cartels, with whom he coordinated the production of the drug and its transport through South America until it could be shipped to Spain. 1,500 kilos of cocaine were seized and eight boats, 36 vehicles and more than 85 telephones confiscated in the operation in which 50 people were arrested and 50 raids were carried out in different countries, including Malaga.
A gang of criminals which ran the largest network of drug traffickers in the world has just been dismantled by police in Spain.
The investigation began in June 2020 and was carried out jointly with the UK authorities when a British organisation based in Spain was detected, which had international trade channels for trafficking cocaine from South America to Europe through Spain. Police investigations led to the identification of the criminals and the discovery they had a fleet of boats at their disposal, which they registered in the name of third parties, according to the ministry of the interior.
There was one robber in its ranks: a Norwegian ex-convict who, after 15 years behind bars for robbing banks and armoured vans, turned to drug trafficking. The gang, which had been sending large shipments to Europe for years, relied on the ringleader to keep the operation going.
The macro-operation, in which Spain’s National Police worked together with Norwegian and British authorities, resulted in the arrest of 50 people in different countries and another 50 raids, of which 13 were carried out in Malaga province, where the criminal group was operating from.
The criminals allegedly lived a life of luxury on the Costa del Sol and owned businesses which allowed them to sell the profits they made from drug trafficking.
Zoom A bathroom ’tiled’ with 50 euro notes: National Police officers found this curious photo during the operation against the largest network of drug traffickers in the world.
The criminal organisation also operated on the islands of Tenerife, Gran Canaria, El Hierro and Lanzarote, establishing maritime links to South America with which they created “narco-routes”. From the south of Spain, those in charge of the gang coordinated and directed the transport of each boat.
The alleged ringleader of the organisation, known as The Professor (El Profesor), recruiting members of the gang. The leader, who is believed to have been operating in drug trafficking for more than 20 years, had the full confidence of the Colombian and Mexican cartels, with whom he coordinated the production of the drug and its transport through South America until it could be shipped to Spain.
During the investigation, agents identified a total of 10 boats the organisation had authorised for the narco routes, and that had different operational bases in South America and Spain. They used ports of Valencia, Alicante, Almeria, Malaga and the Canary Islands.
On the other side of the Atlantic, they had bases in Brazil, Colombia, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, Saint Lucia, Barbados and Panama, where they kept the sailboats ready to await orders from The Professor and his lieutenant to set sail to load the drugs. The organisation’s communications for these operations were carried out with encrypted security systems. The ringleaders had up to 15 telephone terminals each.
Sailing ships
Once the criminal structure was known, police detected the preparation of two sailing ships that were going to receive more than 1,000 kilos of cocaine each. An operation in international waters which involved numerous countries – Norway, Bulgaria, Portugal, United Kingdom, Panama, Saint Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago, France, Poland and Spain – was launched to stop the boats.
Officers carried out 28 searches in Spain in the provinces of Malaga (13), Valencia (6), Almeria (5), Alicante (2), Girona (1) and Murcia (1), where 26 people were arrested, allegedly members of the criminal organisation. Among those arrested are 16 Norwegians. One of them is a former bank and armoured car robber who had already served 15 years in prison and who, a year ago, had joined the ranks of the criminal group due to his criminal experience and respect he received from the Eastern European mafias.
In the searches carried out, 1,500 kilos of cocaine were seized and eight boats, 36 vehicles and more than 85 telephones confiscated.
Gerry ‘The Monk’ Hutch due in ‘secret’ Lanzarote court with ‘group of people’ in new charges probe
Hutch said a few days ago he was considering running as an independent in Ireland’s upcoming general election. He was acquitted last year, following his arrest in the Costa del Sol resort of Fuengirola and subsequent extraction to Ireland, of organising the Regency Hotel attack in Dublin. Spanish police and court officials had yet to make any official statement following Gardai confirmation yesterday of searches in Spain and Ireland targeting a “transnational crime group suspected to be involved in money laundering” At least ten searches were conducted in Spain including Lanzarote where Hutch spends much of his time and is believed to have been held although there has been no official confirmation so far he was arrested on the holiday island. A secrecy order, called a ‘secreto de sumario’ in Spanish, was slapped on the ongoing probe by a judge in Arrecife who is in charge of the judicialized case.
INTERNATIONAL OP Gerry ‘The Monk’ Hutch due in ‘secret’ Lanzarote court with ‘group of people’ in new charges probe
SPANISH officials have confirmed veteran Irish criminal Gerry ‘The Monk’ Hutch has been arrested following reports of an international police operation into money laundering.
And they say the 61-year-old head of the Hutch family and a “group of people” held alongside him will be brought before the courts.
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4 Gerry ‘The Monk’ Hutch is due to appear before court following the searches yesterday Credit: Sam Boal/PA Wire
4 Hutch will be brought before the courts Credit: News Group Newspapers Ltd
Spanish police and court officials had yet to make any official statement following Gardai confirmation yesterday of searches in Spain and Ireland targeting a “transnational crime group suspected to be involved in money laundering.”
At least ten searches were conducted in Spain including Lanzarote where Hutch spends much of his time and is believed to have been held although there has been no official confirmation so far he was arrested on the holiday island.
A court in Lanzarote is conducting an ongoing investigation.
A press spokesman for the Canary Islands’ High Court of Justice said today: “With regards to the alleged international gang arrested in Lanzarote yesterday the duty court in the Lanzarote capital Arrecife, which is Court of Investigation Number Two, confirms that searches have been carried out in homes in Lanzarote, on the mainland and in Ireland and that a group of people whose number has not been determined have been arrested.
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“Among them are an Irish citizen identified in the international press as The Monk.
“Their judicial status will be made public if approved by the relevant judicial authority when this occurs.”
Those initial court hearings will be held in private as is normal in Spain. Only trials are held in public.
Several searches are known to have taken place in Lanzarote yesterday from dawn onwards.
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Well-placed Spanish sources described it initially as an operation to “neutralise organised crime” but did not say who it was targeting.
Gerry Hutch walks out court front door in first glimpse of mob boss’ freedom
A secrecy order, called a ‘secreto de sumario’ in Spanish, was slapped on the ongoing probe by a judge in Arrecife who is in charge of the judicialized case.
Such orders prevent public officials from making detailed public comment.
They are often placed on criminal probes, especially in their infancy, and prevent even defence lawyers and prosecuting attorneys from accessing case files.
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RAIDS BEFORE DAWN
Reports in the Canary Islands say around 50 officers from Tenerife and Aragon in mainland Spain targeted several locations in Arrecife as well as Puerto del Carmen and Playa Blanca.
Three vehicles were said to have been immobilised near the five-star Arrecife Gran Hotel and Spa around 7am yesterday.
The number plates on the cars were covered with cardboard with a strip of Civil Guard tape on them.
One of the vehicles was a blue BMW and the other a Ford.
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Many of the raids reportedly took place before dawn.
FEUD WITH KINAHANS
The Hutch organised crime group is a violent, transnational drug-dealing gang based in Dublin.
The group was involved in a feud with the Kinahan organised crime group that claimed 18 lives.
It was reported in recent days that Hutch was considering running as an independent in Ireland’s upcoming general election, in the hope of unseating Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald.
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He was acquitted last year, following his arrest in the Costa del Sol resort of Fuengirola and subsequent extraction to Ireland, of organising the Regency Hotel gun attack in Dublin which accelerated the Hutch-Kinahan feud.
4 Gerry Hutch said a few days ago he was considering running in Ireland’s upcoming general election Credit: Sam Boal/PA Wire
Major cocaine network — led by smuggler known as “The Professor” — busted in Europe
In total, they confiscated 1.5 tons of cocaine and seized eight vessels. The leader, who was arrested in Norway, is a veteran drug smuggler known as “The Professor” The narcotics were shipped from loading points in Brazil, Colombia, Guayana, Trinidad and Tobago. The network also included members of the so-called “Balkans’ cartel” who were “living the high life,” police say.”The criminal organization would appeal to a santero (witchdoctor) to receive his blessing,” they say, citing a Santeria belief system, which is very popular in Latin America.. On Tuesday, authorities in Paraguay announced the largest cocaine seizure in the country’s history.
Spanish police on Friday announced the takedown of a major network transporting Latin American cocaine into Europe by boat in an international operation involving 50 arrests across eight countries.
The investigation was started by police in Spain and Britain in June 2020 but quickly expanded, drawing in forces from 11 different countries and backed by Europol, Europe’s policing agency, a Spanish police statement said.
In total, they confiscated 1.5 tons of cocaine and seized eight vessels used for shifting their product from Latin American and Caribbean nations to Spain. Europol released a video showing authorities opening bricks of cocaine on one of the ships as well as officers raiding properties, making arrests, and finding drugs, cash and firearms.
The narcotics were shipped from loading points in Brazil, Colombia, Guayana, Trinidad and Tobago, Santa Lucia, Barbados and Panama to Spanish ports in the Canary Islands, the southern region of Andalusia and the eastern city of Valencia
The leader, who was arrested in Norway, is a veteran drug smuggler known as “The Professor,” the statement said. Europol said Friday it had previously designated the leader as a “high value target.”
He has had “more than 20 years” in the business, winning him the “full confidence of the Colombian and Mexican drug cartels” with whom he coordinated the shipments, it added.
The network also included members of the so-called “Balkans’ cartel” who were “living the high life” in Spain’s southern Costa del Sol, the statement said.
But there was also a spiritual element, police said.
“The criminal organization would appeal to a santero (witchdoctor) to receive his blessing and for the success of its cocaine transportation operations between Latin America and Europe,” it said.
Seeking a santero’s blessing is a key element of Santeria, an Afro-Cuban belief system that fuses African religions with Catholicism and which is very popular in Latin America.
Of the detainees, 26 were arrested in Spain, among them 16 Norwegians — one of whom was a former bank robber, who also targeted armored cash-in-transit vehicles and had spent 15 years behind bars for violence.
Spanish police announced the takedown of a major network transporting Latin American cocaine into Europe by boat in an international operation involving 50 arrests across eight countries. Europol
The other 24 suspected gang members were arrested in Bulgaria, Colombia, Norway, Panama, Portugal, Trinidad and Tobago, and the UK.
Most of the arrests took place on June 24, Europol said.
In Spain, one of the main gateways into Europe for Latin American cocaine, police regularly raid drug smugglers, with the last major raid in June involving eight tons of cocaine with 40 arrests. After that sting, Europol released a nearly 10-minute video, showing K-9 dogs and officers finding bags of suspected drugs as well as multiple suspects being detained.
The new bust followed other major drug seizures this week, involving cocaine shipments headed for Europe. On Tuesday ,authorities in Paraguay announced Tuesday the largest cocaine seizure in the country’s history, after officials were surprised to find more than 4 tons of the drug stashed inside a shipment of sugar bound for Belgium.
The day before that, authorities in Ecuador said they found more than six tons of cocaine hidden in a banana shipment headed to Germany.