Spanish Police Arrest 78 People in Bust of One of Largest Smuggling Networks

One of the largest criminal networks smuggling drugs and people in the western Mediterranean has been dismantled, authorities have said.

Europol said 78 people were arrested across Spain and Algeria in a massive operation that exposed a network linked to violent robberies, extortion, illegal detentions and money laundering.

The group moved synthetic drugs from Spain and Portugal to Algeria, then used the return journey to smuggle migrants and weapons to the Spanish mainland and the island of Ibiza on “ghost speedboats”.

Seized items included 18 high‑speed vessels valued at €5 million, guns, more than €25,000 in cash and 15,000 MDMA pills.

The sting, led by Spanish police, involved searches in 17 locations, including Alicante, Almería, Cartagena and Murcia.

Europol described the network as having “evolved from drug trafficking into a dual‑flow criminal enterprise designed to maximise profits” with outbound routes from Spain and Portugal to Algeria.

The smuggling focused on synthetic drugs (especially MDMA), firearms, explosives and, on routine routes from Algeria to Spain, migrants charged up to €12,000 (£10,200) per person.

In a single trip, over 50 migrants could be smuggled, with migrant‑trafficking profits estimated at more than €24 million.

The network also facilitated the movement of illicit goods and people for other organised crime groups across the Western Mediterranean.

Investigators say the group used a fleet of high‑powered speedboats, including “ghost speedboats” designed to avoid registration and detection, prohibited in Spain. These boats operated in international waters near the Spanish coast, handing over cargo or migrants to be taken inland by other network members.

Migrants were often carried in overcrowded boats without lighting or life jackets, frequently under extreme weather conditions, and were subjected to sexual assaults, physical abuse and inhumane conditions in makeshift housing.

The suspects were primarily of Algerian origin and had connections to criminal groups in France, Belgium, Portugal, Italy and Poland.

Other objects seized included satellite phones, GPS devices, encrypted communication tools and satellite dishes.

The announcement comes a week after roughly 78,000 migrants fled into the Spanish North‑African territory of Ceuta on rumours about an open border.

Most of the migrants returned to Morocco, but between 3,000 and 5,000 remain in the exclave, the territory’s leader Juan Jesús Vivas said.

For more, see the Ceuta migrant exodus report.