Spanish crime gang living ‘lavish lifestyle’ taken down with support of Irish authorities

10 people have been arrested in Spain as part of a major operation to “clamp down on the lavish lifestyle” of the crime group, Europol says.

The gang imported boats and powerful engines from the Netherlands, readied them on a ship off the coast of Portugal and then used them to transport drugs from Morocco to Spain.

Authorities wracked up an impressive list of confiscated valuables from raids in multiple cities, including three ships, eleven real estate properties, five companies, 36 luxury cars, 12 luxury watches and the contents of 58 bank accounts.

14 tons of hashish, 5.1 tons of cocaine and more than €1 million in cash have also been seized.

A two-year investigation has lead to a total of 27 people being arrested, including the main suspect’s lawyer.

Recent arrests by the Guardia Civil include people from Spain, Germany and Morocco who were apprehended in raids in Barcelona, Ceuta, Almeria and Malaga.

Their 39 phones, a satellite phone, 8 computers, 3 microphone scanners and a cash counting machine are now in the hands of law enforcement.

Europol, the United States Drug Enforcement Agency and authorities in Ireland, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Türkiye and the United Kingdom teamed up to tackle the gang.

The Spanish Guardia Civil carried out house searches across the country which led to the disruption of the criminal network.

It is believed this group was providing financial and technical support to other criminal groups in Europe.

The gang invested in companies located in several countries, using loans and mortgages to businesses to launder illicit funds.

Through smuggling large amounts of cash, they were able to invest in luxury goods like yachts, watches, vehicles, real estate and more.

The operation has been ongoing since 2020 with the help of Europol, who united the investigations of authorities in multiple countries to close in on the Spanish crime group.