Spain-led operation dismantles major Mediterranean smuggling network
Europol and Spanish authorities describe the group as a logistics hub for organised crime, citing over €24 million in illicit profits and dangerous migrant crossings.
Spanish authorities, in cooperation with Europol and police forces from France, Portugal, and Poland, have dismantled a significant transnational criminal network operating across the Western Mediterranean. The operation, which culminated in an action day on June 16, resulted in 78 arrests, including 77 in Spain and one in Algeria. Investigators seized 18 high-speed boats and other assets linked to the organisation.
The network, described by Europol as functioning like a logistics company for organised crime, facilitated over 64 smuggling operations, transporting more than 2,000 migrants to Spain and generating over €24 million in profits. Authorities highlighted the dangerous conditions faced by migrants, who were often crammed into overcrowded vessels without safety equipment.
Launched by Spain’s Civil Guard and National Police in 2023, the investigation targeted a group that managed two-way maritime routes between Europe and Algeria. The network allegedly moved synthetic drugs southward and migrants northward to Spain’s southeastern coast and the island of Ibiza. Smugglers charged up to €12,000 per migrant, packing up to 50 people onto single vessels.
Authorities described the crossings as extremely dangerous, with migrants often crammed into overcrowded boats without lighting or life jackets, and sometimes tied down to prevent them from falling overboard. The organisation used extraordinary violence against migrants, its own members, and police.
The network provided logistical services to other criminal groups, including vessel storage, transportation, refuelling, maritime transfers, boat maintenance, and counter-surveillance. Funds were reportedly moved through informal hawala networks, complicating financial tracing.
Most detainees were Algerian nationals with ties to criminal groups in France, Belgium, Portugal, Italy, and Poland. Three high-value targets were among those arrested. Seventeen locations were searched in Spain, including Alicante, Almeria, Cartagena, and Murcia.
The announcement follows a mass migrant surge into Spain’s North African enclave of Ceuta a week prior, which had drawn international attention to regional migration pressures.
