Spain and Europol dismantle Mediterranean smuggling network; 78 arrested

A large criminal network that smuggled drugs, weapons and people across the Western Mediterranean has been dismantled in an operation led by Spanish authorities with Europol support, officials said; 78 suspects were arrested.

How the ring operated

Investigators say the group acted like a logistics company for organised crime, running two-way maritime routes between Europe and Algeria and offering services to other criminal outfits: storing and maintaining vessels, supplying fuel, carrying out sea transfers and providing counter-surveillance.

The network maintained a fleet of fast boats, including the so‑called "'ghost' fast boats", which are banned in Spain because of their size and engine power. Authorities say suspects used these vessels for transfers in international waters off the Spanish coast, enabling rapid movement of drugs, weapons and migrants toward shore with reduced detection risk.

Police and judicial teams carried out searches at 17 sites in Spain — including in Alicante, Almería, Cartagena and Murcia — and arrested 78 people in Spain and Algeria, among them three high‑ranking suspects, Europol reported.

Europol's inquiry also found the group was largely composed of Algerian nationals linked to criminal networks in France, Belgium, Portugal, Italy and Poland. Financial flows were routed through the informal "hawala" system, complicating investigators' ability to trace illegal payments.

On the routes back from Algeria to Spain the organisation charged up to €12,000 per person, and Europol estimates the migrant‑smuggling activity alone generated more than €24 million (about $27 million). Investigators also described the journeys as dangerous: migrants transported in crowded, unlit boats without life vests, sometimes in severe weather. The case has been cited as another stress test for the EU's new Asylum Pact and its measures on cross‑border smuggling.

Photo: Printskrin od video na Evropol