Spain is the new center of drug traffickers in Europe
Spain is the new center of drug traffickers in Europe, with the location of cartels seeking this nation as their base of operations.
For the chief inspector of the Fugitive Tracking Section of the National Police, many of the new criminal phenomena are based in Spain, which is considered the new center of drug traffickers in Europe.
In terms of international drug trafficking, Spain has traditionally been a transit country, a strategic point.
Spain is the point for bringing drugs into Europe from South America or North Africa and distributing them to the center and north of the Old Continent.
A proof that the new center of the drug traffickers in Europe is Spain, is based on a recent operation that has revealed the trip of a member of the Mexican Sinaloa cartel to certify a methamphetamine pass.
This operation ended in the largest seizure of a cache of that substance by the State Security Forces and Corps, in this case the National Police.
Sources of the anti-drug fight clarified that the operation allowed to dismantle an organization of “narco-transportistas” linked to the above mentioned cartel.
However, the member of the mafia was temporarily in Spain and was planning to return to his country once the surrender had been carried out.
The new center of drug traffickers in Europe
So, many are asking, are the cartels that lead the international drug trade in Spain? And if so, this country has become the new center of drug traffickers in Europe.
The aforementioned sources assure that in recent months an attempt by these dangerous mafias to establish themselves in Spain has been detected.
Among the trafficking groups, the Balkan cartel, the Mocro Maffia, the Marseille mafia or the Sinaloa cartel itself are mentioned.
Police officials explain that police and judicial pressure in other European countries where they had put down roots, such as the Netherlands or Belgium, led them to set their sights on our country.
The last operation that managed to remove from the market a consignment of more than 1,800 kilos of methamphetamine, a narcotic of which there is “little culture of consumption” in Spain.
The National Police investigators suspect that the drug, known on the streets as “crystal”, was destined for Central European countries such as Poland or Germany, and also the United Kingdom.
However, when a consignment of that caliber stops in a country, “there is always something left over”. And that is what anti-drug experts are trying to avoid.
They recognize that there is a high concentration of dangerous mafia offshoots in places like the Costa del Sol, where their coexistence generates a climate of high voltage.
Last summer, the French drug lord known as Mosca, who was freed last week in an ambush that resulted in the murder of two prison officers, ordered the murder of another French drug trafficker in Marbella from prison.
In 2023, more than 100 tons were seized by the State Security Forces.
The overproduction of drugs and their arrival in Spain is evidenced by the drop in the price of a kilo of cocaine: about 18,000 euros, when less than two years ago it was paid at about 25,000.
In 2023, with Colombia producing more cocaine than ever, the Mexicans have landed in Spain.
Meanwhile, the successors to the Cali and Medellin cartels have stable offices in Madrid, Galicia, Malaga and even the Canary Islands.
The Balkan cartel dominates part of the reception of shipments, both in ports and on boats.
Semi-submersibles have become a completely safe alternative, as security forces do not have the technology to detect them.
The Mocro Mafia is on the rise
And the Mocro Mafia, led from prison by the Dutchman of Moroccan origin, Ridouan Taghi, is starting its operation in Spain, sharing the cake with Serbians and Albanians.
The new center of the drug traffickers in Europe is convenient for its location.
The Mocro Mafia buys hashish directly in Morocco, cocaine in Colombia or methamphetamine in Mexico.
They control the transport and fight to dominate the ports, which are for them the jewel in the crown.
Over the years, some of the best known drug traffickers have been arrested in Spain, such as the Colombian Gilberto Rodriguez Orejuela, head of the Cali cartel; members of the Irish Kinahan Cartel, the former major of the Brazilian Military Police Sergio Roberto de Carvalho, some distinguished members of the ‘Ndrangheta, and Jonas Falk, known as the Swedish Pablo Escobar; the cream of the Turkish mafia, Russians, Marseillais, the Moroccan-Dutch Mocro Mafia and, lately, the Serbians and Albanians of the Balkan cartel, as well as the Mexicans.
All of them have been discovered doing business in the Iberian Peninsula.
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The geographic location, facing the Atlantic Ocean and as a physical gateway to Europe, is a basic factor in positioning Spain as the new hub for narcotics traffickers in Europe.
For example, NarcoFiles describes a route linking the port of Veracruz, Mexico, with the port of Barcelona.
The Old Continent is the main market in the world, due to the large number of consumers and the economic capacity to acquire them, Spain is the key.
