FLASH
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Europol in collaboration with the Guardia di Finanza and the Spanish Catalan Regional Police (Mossos d'Esquadra) have dismantled a large criminal network behind several tons of Marinos being trafficked into the EU.
The investigation, also supported by Eurojust, dealt a blow to the money-laundering network that laundered the illicit proceeds.
During the operation, 58 people were arrested in Italy and 20 in Spain, 104 house searches were carried out (89 in Italy and 25 in Spain) and 350 kg of cannabis (327 hash and 33 kg of marijuana), weapons, electronic equipment, documents and were seized. assets worth 845,000 euros.
The criminal network had already been hit in November 2022, when Europol supported a coordinated action that led to the arrest of 36 suspects of Albanian, Italian and Spanish nationality in Italy.
Dutch and Spanish authorities arrested six other suspects through the execution of European arrest warrants. Between 2019 and 2021 alone, law enforcement authorities in Italy and Spain seized more than six tons of cannabis and hashish, as well as cannabinoid-based e-cigarette refills. Criminal investigations were launched in 2019 in Italy and 2022 in Spain, while links were established as investigations and international cooperation progressed. The suspects were found to have facilitated the logistics behind the trafficking operation through the use of encrypted communication platforms Sky ECC and Encrochat.
Moroccan nationals based in Spain arranged drug shipments to Spain and their subsequent delivery to various distributors in Italy. Various actors facilitated the overall supply and logistics process of the network: from collection, storage, transportation and distribution of cannabis to payments and money laundering activities.
Payments for drug shipments were arranged through an informal hawala-like banking system known as fei-ch'ien. This underground banking system is run mostly by Chinese nationals and allows cash to be transferred from one country to another through a network of trusted offices. The money is not physically sent, instead the offices compensate each other afterwards.
The investigations revealed two separate networks, one dealing with drug trafficking and the other with money laundering. Although different, the networks are connected through their leaders. Financial and asset recovery investigations are still ongoing.
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