National Police agents dismantled the criminal organization “narcos del cielo” which aimed to bring tons of cocaine to Europe by air. The operation, carried out jointly with the Portuguese judicial police and EUROPOL, resulted in the arrest of 25 people: 19 in Spain and 6 in Portugal.
The organization, highly specialized in bringing cocaine shipments into Europe, used chartered private planes and its members had extensive contacts for sending and receiving cocaine shipments.
The criminal network used as a source of financing Chinese businessmenknown as hawalers, who had sufficient economic capacity and a structure operating worldwide to carry out credit offsets outside the legal financial system.
Following the investigation, interventions were carried out 460 kilos of cocaineA short weaponmore than 500,000 euros in cash, 18 vehicles and 45 mobile terminals, most of them encrypted; 8 properties valued at more than 1,650,000 euros and 80 bank accounts with a balance of 660,000 euros were also blocked.
The first investigations, opened in June 2023 jointly between the national police and the American DEA, focused on the activities of a Colombian citizen residing in Madrid who allegedly led a large criminal organization dedicated to the importation of large quantities of cocaine.
In a first phase, the research focused on a cafeteria located Morality (Madrid). In this one, frequented by the respondents and which they themselves called “the office”most of the meetings of the organization’s members have taken place.
From that moment on, police efforts made it possible to begin to identify the members of the network – many of whom resided abroad – as well as to know the role played by each of them and to detect the illicit projects that were taking place. were developing.
High specialization
As the investigation progressed, agents established that this was a criminal organization highly specialized in smuggling cocaine stashes into Europe, whose members had extensive shipping contacts of the narcotic from different points in South America and for its reception in different European cities. .
To transport the drugs, they used private planes chartered by private companies, making this illicit activity appear legal. On the other hand, investigations confirmed that all members of the network had engaged in international cocaine trafficking. his only way to livewithout carrying out any legal professional activity and which, moreover, allowed them to maintain a high standard of living.
After several months, agents confirmed that the organization had access to several European airports as entry point of cocaine shipments, including one found in the Portuguese town of Beja. There, the network had a large structure, which is why its members made numerous trips to Portugal.
Last January, the National Police and the Judicial Police of Portugal carried out a joint operation which allowed the identification of a conspiracy of corrupt officials which operated, under the direction of a Portuguese citizen, at the Beja commercial airport.
On these dates, the agents learned that the organization had launched its first chartered plane from Barranquilla (Colombia) to the airport of Beja (Portugal), on board which were several of its members as well as pilots hired for this purpose . However, and despite the extensive system put in place, the efforts of the police confirmed that the said plane could not have been loaded with cocaine in Barranquilla, which resulted in economic losses for the organization exceeding 500,000 euros.
Suitcases and containers of cocaine bound for Madrid
The people investigated continued their plan to send nearly two tons of cocaine by private plane to Europe, even if, to recover financially and pay for the operation, as well as to maintain their standard of living, they changed their mode operative. They resorted to smaller operations, which did not require large financial outlays, and began sending suitcases containing cocaine from different countries into the country. Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport.
However, the shipments were detected by agents who intercepted four in September 2023 (with 16.5 kilos of cocaine), March 2024 (31 kilos of cocaine), April 2024 (60 kilos of cocaine) and September 2024 (20 kilos of narcotic). ).
Likewise, last May, the organization sent a container of avocados from Peru to Port of Barcelona. On this occasion it contained 344 kilos of cocaine hidden in the floor of the structure, although the agents intercepted it before it reached the members of the network.
In June 2024, the respondents attempted a second time to transport the drugs on a private plane. After obtaining financing from several Mexican external investors, they chartered a private plane from Johannesburg (South Africa) to the Dominican Republic, where the narcotic was to be loaded, and finally headed to United Kingdom. As with the first attempt, logistical problems prevented the cocaine from being loaded.
Funded thanks to ‘hawalers’
The setbacks suffered forced respondents to seek new sources of financing that would allow them to cover their daily expenses, as well as payment for the narcotic substance and other logistical expenses.
Through police efforts, officers discovered several ways in which they provided cover for the organization’s logistical and financial apparatus. Among them, they accredited the use of establishments that operate with cryptocurrencies for the conversion of cash resulting from drug trafficking operations into legal tender.
Likewise, they showed that they used remittance sites and, as their main source, contacts with businessmen of Chinese origin who had sufficient economic capacity and structure operating worldwide to carry out transactions. credit clearing outside the legal financial system (system called Hawala).
Among the contacts of Chinese origin investigated, the agents identified one of the high value targets of EUROPOL, who supported the investigation in the analysis of the financial information obtained as well as in the traceability of the economic flows of the criminal organization.
Framed in Spain and Portugal
After 15 months of investigation, the operation was completed in mid-October. In Spain, agents carried out 14 searches and arrested 19 people Madrid, Alicante, Seville, Cuenca and Cáceres -declaring entry into temporary prison without bail for 16 of them-. Likewise, six other international stop orders (IDOs) were issued against targets located outside the national territory.
To achieve the complete dismantling of the criminal organization, a coordinated deployment was carried out by the National Police in which agents from Madrid, Barcelona, Bilbao, Cuenca and Plasencia (Cáceres) participated.
Furthermore, thanks to cooperation with the Portuguese judicial police, at the end of October, the Portuguese authorities carried out several searches and arrested six other people in the Portuguese country. Several firearms, ammunition, high-end vehicles and 15,000 euros in cash were seized there.
The operation resulted in 25 arrests and the seizure of 460 kilos of cocaine, more than 500,000 euros in cash, 18 vehicles and 45 mobile terminals, most of them encrypted; 8 properties valued at more than 1,650,000 euros and 80 bank accounts with a balance of 660,000 euros were also blocked.
