Spanish police arrest 78 people in bust of 'one of largest' smuggling networks

Police raids in Spain and Algeria exposed a criminal syndicate that moved synthetic drugs, weapons and migrants across the western Mediterranean.

78 suspects were arrested in a coordinated operation across 17 locations, from Alicante to Murcia, involving the Spanish police and Europol.

The network moved synthetic drugs from Spain and Portugal to Algeria, then used the return leg to smuggle migrants and weapons aboard high‑speed “ghost” boats to the Spanish mainland and Ibiza.

Police seized 18 high‑speed vessels worth €5m, guns, more than €25,000 in cash and 15,000 MDMA pills.

The group, linked to violent robberies, extortion and money‑laundering, profited an estimated €24m from migrant smuggling alone, charging up to €12,000 per person and moving up to 50 migrants in one trip.

Suspects—predominantly of Algerian origin—were tied to criminal groups in France, Belgium, Portugal, Italy and Poland. The operation also uncovered satellite phones, GPS devices, encrypted communication tools and satellite dishes used to coordinate the smuggling flows.

The raid follows a recent surge of migrants in the Spanish North‑African exclave Ceuta, where roughly 78,000 people fled following rumours of an open border.