Overview

• Four individuals have been arrested—including a Madrid-based ringleader and his partner—and 17 others are under investigation across ten provinces.
• Authorities seized 136 mobile phones, five tablets, five smartwatches, four laptops and a desktop computer during a raid on the network’s Madrid hub.
• The ring acquired devices through employee thefts, scams and identity fraud before listing them at prices far below market value on second-hand platforms.
• The leader’s partner, a tax agency technician, handled the network’s illicit profits, manipulated bank accounts and filed false robbery reports.
• Investigators from the Unidad Central de Ciberdelincuencia began monitoring suspicious sales in March 2022, part of Spain’s broader push to curb organized crime online.