An investigation that began in December 2018, has recently led to an arrest of 14 members of the criminal organisation involved.
Europol supported the Central Narcotics Unit and the Central Money Laundering Unit of regional Catalan police (Mossos D’esquadra) in arresting 14 members of an international criminal organisation trafficking cocaine and laundering money. Eight members of the criminal organisation have been sent to prison.
The investigation began in December 2018 when 1 413 kg of cocaine was found at a company near Barcelona. The drugs were hidden inside 800 boxes of A4 paper that came from Brazil. The true content of the boxes was only discovered when a company employee took one of the boxes and dropped it by accident. Two people were arrested in Spain and the investigation revealed that ten people had been smuggling drugs from Brazil as part of a criminal organisation.
Europol explained that to launder the money they gained from drug trafficking, the suspects created a whole business structure with different companies, such as real estate investments or fashion stores in Barcelona. Another way to launder money was to use people (‘mulas’) that periodically made small cash deposits at several bank branches.
