Mediterranean smuggling network ‘dismantled’ in Spain-led raid, 78 arrested

Key Points:

• Spanish authorities, in collaboration with Europol and police from France, Portugal, and Poland, dismantled a major criminal network involved in migrant smuggling, drug, and weapons trafficking across the Western Mediterranean, resulting in 78 arrests and the seizure of 18 high-speed boats.
• The operation, led by Spain’s Civil Guard and National Police, targeted a network that conducted at least 64 smuggling operations, moving over 2,000 migrants and generating more than €24 million in profits by charging up to €12,000 per migrant.
• Migrants were subjected to extremely dangerous conditions, including overcrowded boats without safety equipment and violence from the criminal organization, which also used methods like tying passengers down to prevent falling overboard.
• The network operated like a logistics company, facilitating two-way maritime smuggling routes between Europe and Algeria, transporting synthetic drugs southward and migrants northward, and providing services such as vessel storage, refueling, and counter-surveillance to other criminal groups.
• Authorities found that the network laundered money through informal hawala systems, complicating efforts to trace illicit funds, and arrested most suspects in Spain, primarily Algerian nationals linked to criminal groups across several European countries.