Overview
- Spanish National Police, working with the DEA, arrested nine suspects on January 7 across Alicante, Madrid, Valencia, Málaga and Tenerife in what investigators describe as the takedown of the network’s European infrastructure.
- Agents seized nearly €3 million in cash from a buried bunker at a marble company linked to the operation, along with luxury watches, phones, geolocation devices and ammunition.
- Among those detained were a suspected Sinaloa cartel member found hiding in Madrid and a marble-company owner accused of fronting shipments; three detainees have been remanded to prison.
- Investigators say the group smuggled methamphetamine into Europe by concealing it inside imported marble blocks and statues, a method uncovered after a 1,800‑kg seizure in May 2024.
- After the initial seizure, police traced attempted reconstitution efforts, including 40 kg of meth hidden in a statue bound for Tenerife and a 38‑kg marijuana shipment to Finland, as the probe continues under Audiencia Nacional oversight.