Head of Anti-Money Laundering in Madrid Arrested Over 13-Ton Cocaine Shipment Bound for El Campello

Agents from the Internal Affairs of the National Police have arrested the head of the Economic Crimes Section of the Madrid Superior Headquarters for his alleged involvement with the 13 tons of cocaine imported for El Campello and found inside a container at the port of Algeciras three weeks ago, according to ABC newspaper.

During the search of the chief inspector of Anti-Money Laundering, Oscar G.'s home in Alcalá de Henares, west of the capital, agents found over 20 million euros hidden within the walls of the house. Another million was found in a raid on the official's professional office. The arrested man's wife, another police officer, was also detained, along with over fifteen suspects related to the massive October shipment.

All of them, along with Óscar G., have already been sent to prison by order of Francisco de Jorge, head of the Central Court of Instruction number 1 of the National Court.

The more than 13 tons seized at the port of Algeciras - as part of Operation Machala - on October 14, hidden in the double bottom of a container among boxes of Ecuadorian bananas, dismantled the lucrative operational network managed by the powerful 'Balkan clan', with which the police official is allegedly connected.

The merchandise was divided into 11,000 "bricks" stored in boxes of similar weight to the fruit. It has a wholesale value of 400 million euros and on the street, up to 780 million. This is the largest operation against cocaine trafficking in Spain and the second in Europe, only surpassed by a shipment found in Rotterdam of 16 tons in 2021.

The operation remains open and, following the capture of the police official and his partner, the search is on for the couple who ran the fruit import business (Abadix Fruits), which served as a front for the network and fled their luxurious villa in El Campello after emptying the two safes in the house upon learning of the discovery of the massive drug shipment.

The Tax Agency had focused on this company since 2020, two years before it reactivated its activity. Initially, it exported large quantities of tropical fruit from Costa Rica and Panama, but this year changed supplier and country to Ecuador.

The fact that the seller from Guayaquil appeared in customs and police databases with a history of illicit trafficking raised alarms. A phase in which the Ecuadorian police played an essential role and which strengthens bilateral collaboration following the arrest in Tarragona of the leaders of the narcoterrorist group Los Tiguerones on October 23. The Alcívar Bautista brothers, among the most wanted in Ecuador.