Seven arrested following raids on network transporting hundreds of kilograms of drugs from Spain
Seven people were detained on Monday following 16 searches targeting a criminal group that transported cocaine and cannabis from Spain via lorries with hidden compartments. Drugs confiscated at European level total approximately 1,719 kg, valued at 9.6 million euros wholesale.
International drug trafficking pyramid network dismantled following three-year investigation
Seven people — six men and one woman — were detained on Monday following searches conducted on a criminal group specialising in transporting drugs from Spain to several European states, according to Google News RO — Crime (ro), citing a statement issued on Tuesday by the Romanian Police.
The operation was coordinated by police officers from the Directorate for Combating Organised Crime — Anti-Drug Service, together with prosecutors from the Directorate for Investigating Organised Crime and Terrorism Offences (DIICOT) — Drug Trafficking Combating Section.
16 searches in six counties
On Monday, 16 searches were carried out at the residences of private individuals and at the headquarters of legal entities from several counties across the country. Raids took place in Timișoara, Satu Mare, Oradea and Câmpulung Moldovenesc, as well as in Maramureș and Mehedinți counties.
Documents were seized at the scene, 54 gold and silver coins, an ingot, a luxury watch, sums of money in lei, euros, dollars and forints, a rifle with bayonet and several data storage devices. A measure of precautionary seizure was also imposed on movable and immovable assets valued at approximately 400,000 euros — four properties and one luxury car — as well as on 27 bank accounts opened in the names of the persons under investigation.
On Tuesday, the judge for rights and liberties within Bucharest Court was referred to with a proposal for the preventative arrest of the seven defendants.
Pyramid-type group, active since September 2023
According to investigators, from September 2023, four men and a commercial company with an international transport profile formed the nucleus of an organised criminal group of pyramid type. Subsequently, other members, Romanian and foreign nationals, joined the group with the aim of obtaining substantial sums of money from the procurement and transport of drugs from Spain to various European states.
The drugs transported — cannabis resin, cannabis and cocaine — were dispatched in quantities of hundreds of kilograms by lorries equipped with hidden compartments.
According to the Press Bureau of the General Inspectorate of the Romanian Police (IGPR), ten other suspects — nine men and one woman — later joined the organised criminal group, as well as another four commercial companies, used as a legal front for drug transport. The entire activity of the group was also supported by the life partner of one of the leaders.
Orders from Albanian drug traffickers, coordinated from Romania
The leaders of the group, based in Romania, received orders from Albanian drug traffickers, after which they transmitted to the other members the coordinates necessary for operationalising the transports. They were responsible for recruiting drivers and providing vehicles, monitoring the progress of transports all from Romania.
When a transport was seized by the authorities of other states, the leaders took steps to ensure legal assistance to drivers caught in the act and at the same time followed access to criminal files to check whether there were no clues leading to the top of the hierarchy.
The group's mode of operation was characterised by investigators as "crime as a service": the organisation offered Albanian groups specialised services for transporting drugs from the countries serving as entry points into Europe to final destinations, depending on orders.
Approximately 1,719 kg of drugs captured at European level
The documented activity of the group resulted in four transports intercepted by the judicial authorities of France, Germany, Italy and Spain, based on evidence and information transmitted by criminal prosecution bodies from Romania.
The quantities confiscated in these operations are: 114 kg cocaine, 228.219 kg cannabis and 1,376.913 kg cannabis resin (hashish), totalling approximately 1,719 kg. The estimated value of these drugs is approximately 9.6 million euros at wholesale level and approximately 25 million euros at retail level, based on UNODC market values, according to IGPR.
Leader designated "High Value Target" by EUROPOL
During 2025, the leader of the organised criminal group — Romanian national — was included by EUROPOL, at Romania's request, on the "High Value Target" list. This designation is applied to persons whose criminal activity meets strict risk criteria and who generate a major, cross-border threat to at least two member states of the European Union.
Evidence obtained during criminal prosecution showed that the leader used an encrypted application used by drug traffickers. The related data were requested and obtained through a European Investigation Order from French authorities and will be used as evidence, in accordance with the jurisprudence of other EU member states, to demonstrate the leader's long-term connections with Albanian trafficking groups.
Judicial cooperation with France, Spain, Italy and Germany
The case benefited from extensive judicial cooperation carried out between 2023 and 2026, through European Investigation Orders, with the competent authorities of France, Spain, Italy and Germany, via EUROJUST. There was also extensive police cooperation with the national police of the member states affected by the group's activity, with EUROPOL's involvement.
The seven detained persons are being investigated for forming an organised criminal group, trafficking in drugs of risk and high-risk drugs in continuous form and money laundering.
Source: Google News RO — Crime (ro)