Fugitive Wanted in France for Drug Trafficking and Money Laundering Captured in Elche

He was wanted in France for drug trafficking and money laundering, crimes for which he faced 10 years in prison. French authorities had issued a European Arrest Warrant for Extradition (EAW) for his arrest. The National Police captured him in Elche.

The fugitive, aged 29, was detained in a public area during a routine check by a citizen security patrol. He carried no identification, and after his details were processed through the National Police databases, it was confirmed that an arrest warrant had been issued for him since August 2024.

The charges against him are linked to an investigation that began in April 2022, when a package from Brazil containing cocaine was intercepted by customs officers at France's Orly airport.

The investigation into three more packages with the same sender and recipient names, also sent between February and March of that year, led to the identification of a criminal organisation involved in drug trafficking and money laundering, of which the arrested individual was a part, according to the police.

Following police procedures, the detainee has been placed at the disposal of the Central Court of Instruction of the National Court, the body responsible for processing his subsequent extradition.