Spain Flags Off 78 Arrests, Cracks Largest Western Mediterranean Smuggling Ring
Spanish police, assisted by Europol, arrested 78 people in Spain and Algeria during a coordinated sting that dismantled one of the region’s most extensive trans‑Mediterranean criminal networks.
Investigators seized 18 ghost‑speedboats worth an estimated €5 million, 15 000 MDMA tablets, firearms, €25 000 in cash and other maritime equipment.
The ring moved synthetic drugs, weapons and migrants from Spain and Portugal to Algeria and then used short sea routes to smuggle people onto the Spanish mainland and the island of Ibiza.
Authorities say the operation was led by an alleged group of Algerian‑born traffickers with links to organised crime outfits in France, Belgium, Portugal, Italy and Poland.
Police highlighted that migrants were carried in overcrowded boats made for speed, often without life‑jackets, and were frequently subjected to sexual abuse and harsh housing conditions on shore.
The successful sweep followed the flare‑up in Ceuta, where almost 80 000 migrants entered the Spanish exclave after a social‑media rumour claimed an open border, prompting a broader crackdown on smuggling across the region.
