Spanish police, with support from Europol, have dismantled one of the largest criminal networks operating in the western Mediterranean, arresting 78 people in Spain and Algeria. The network is accused of smuggling both drugs and people, along with engaging in violent robberies, extortion, illegal detentions, and money laundering.
The group is alleged to have transported synthetic drugs from Spain and Portugal to Algeria. On return journeys, they used high-speed vessels, including unregistered "ghost speedboats," to smuggle migrants and weapons back to the Spanish mainland and the island of Ibiza. Authorities estimate profits from migrant smuggling alone exceeded €24 million.
During the operation, conducted across 17 locations in Spain including Alicante, Almería, Cartagena, and Murcia, authorities seized 18 high-speed vessels valued at €5 million, firearms, over €25,000 in cash, and 15,000 MDMA pills. The network also supplied services to other organized crime groups, facilitating the movement of illicit goods and individuals. Investigators believe the network managed multiple trafficking routes, moving synthetic drugs and people from France and Spain to Algeria, and cannabis resin, weapons, and migrants from Algeria to Spain.
Europol stated that the group had evolved into a dual-flow criminal enterprise designed to maximize profits. Migrants were reportedly transported in overcrowded boats, often without lighting or life jackets, and under harsh weather conditions. Investigators also suspect that network members perpetrated sexual assaults and physical abuse, and held migrants in inhumane conditions.
The majority of the arrested suspects are of Algerian origin, with alleged connections to criminal groups in France, Belgium, Portugal, Italy, and Poland. The operation also yielded satellite phones, GPS devices, encrypted communication tools, and satellite dishes.
This bust comes shortly after approximately 78,000 migrants crossed into Spain's North African territory of Ceuta, a situation attributed to online rumors of an open border. Most of those migrants have since returned to Morocco, though an estimated 3,000 to 5,000 remain in the exclave.