Spanish drug trafficking network dismantled: 16 DIICOT searches, seven detained
DIICOT and the Romanian Police carried out 16 searches on Monday, targeting a group that transported hundreds of kilograms of drugs from Spain across Europe. Seven persons were detained.
DIICOT anti-drug operation: pyramid-structured network with 1,719 kg of drugs seized across four countries
According to Google News RO — Crime, DIICOT prosecutors and anti-drug brigade officers executed 16 searches on Monday at residences and business premises in several counties across the country, in connection with a criminal case concerning the formation of an organised criminal group, drug trafficking in high-risk and very high-risk substances in continuous form, and money laundering. On Tuesday, the Romanian Police announced that seven persons had been detained as a result of the operation.
Searches were carried out in Timișoara, Satu Mare, Oradea and Câmpulung Moldovenesc, as well as in Maramureș and Mehedinți counties.
Group structure: lorries with hidden compartments
The investigation established that, starting from September 2023, four men and a commercial company with an international transport profile formed the nucleus of a pyramid-type organised criminal group. Ten additional suspects subsequently joined it — nine men and one woman — as well as four other commercial companies, used as a legal front for drug transportation.
"The entire activity of the organised crime group was supported by another suspect, the life partner of one of the leaders," the Press Office of the General Inspectorate of the Romanian Police (IGPR) stated.
The drugs — cannabis resin, cannabis and cocaine — were transported from Spain to various European states via lorries equipped with hidden compartments. The group leaders, based in Romania, received orders from Albanian drug traffickers, transmitted operational coordinates to other members, made the necessary arrangements for drivers and vehicles, and then monitored the progress of the transports.
When a transport was intercepted by the authorities of another state, the group would arrange legal assistance for the drivers caught in flagrante delicto and sought to gain access to criminal files to check whether there were any clues that could lead to the leaders.
Nearly 1,720 kg of drugs seized, estimated value of 25 million euros
The group's activity was documented through four transports detected by judicial authorities in France, Germany, Italy and Spain, on the basis of evidence and information transmitted by criminal investigation bodies in Romania. In total, the authorities seized:
- 114 kg cocaine
- 228.219 kg cannabis
- 1,376.913 kg cannabis resin (hashish)
The estimated value of the entire quantity — approximately 1,719 kg — is around 9.6 million euros at wholesale level and approximately 25 million euros at retail level, according to EUDA market values, according to DIICOT.
The group offered Albanian drug traffickers specialised logistics services for transporting drugs from the countries of entry into Europe to their final destinations, operating according to the "crime as a service" model.
Group leader listed by Europol as High Value Target
During 2025, the leader of the criminal group — a Romanian citizen — was included by Europol, at Romania's request, on the High Value Targets list, a category reserved for persons whose criminal activity generates a major, cross-border threat to two or more member states of the European Union.
Evidence gathered during the criminal investigation showed that the leader used an encrypted application used by drug traffickers. The data were requested and obtained through a European Investigation Order from the French authorities and will be used as evidence demonstrating his long-standing connections with Albanian drug trafficking networks, DIICOT specified.
Judicial cooperation over three years with four states
The case benefited from extensive judicial cooperation carried out between 2023 and 2026, through European Investigation Orders, with the authorities of France, Spain, Italy and Germany, with the involvement of Eurojust. There was also extensive police cooperation with the national police forces of the member states whose territories were affected, with the participation of Europol.
Hearings are to take place at DIICOT's central office.
The operation benefited from the support of the Computer Crime Combating Service, the Economic Macrocrime Combating Service within the Organised Crime Combating Directorate, DCCO brigades, officers from the Special Interventions and Actions Service, as well as county-level special actions services.
Source: Google News RO — Crime (ro)