Dismantled in Spain: The Largest European Network of the Sinaloa Cartel with Million-Dollar Lab and Bunker
The National Police, in coordination with the U.S. DEA, has dismantled a network directly linked to the Mexican Sinaloa Cartel that used a marble factory as a front to bring drugs in from Mexico and distribute them across the European continent.
The operation, part of the second phase of the so-called Saga Operation, resulted in nine arrests in Spain and the seizure of nearly 1,800 kilos of methamphetamine. Four of the arrests took place in the province of Alicante, specifically in Monforte del Cid, Novelda and San Juan Beach, confirming the key role of this area as the criminal group’s logistical base.
A marble company in Monforte del Cid received shipments from Sinaloa in which the drugs were hidden inside the stone. During the raids, officers located an underground bunker built specifically to hide cash beneath one of the industrial warehouses.
The operation, carried out across several Spanish provinces, revealed a sophisticated criminal structure that concealed methamphetamine inside marble blocks imported from Mexico and nearly 3 million euros in cash buried underground
The investigation began in 2023 and points directly to a business owner in the marble sector, with connections across several municipalities in the province. This lead triggered simultaneous searches at homes in Novelda and at a villa on San Juan Beach, where the owner of the company resided.
The operation expanded to Valencia, Málaga and Madrid. The National Police also confirmed the arrest of the alleged leader of the drug-trafficking network, who was responsible for coordinating operations between Dubai and Mexico and maintaining communication with the rest of the group.
This operation shows that drug trafficking does not only affect the United States and Mexico, but can also become deeply involved in European markets through increasingly sophisticated methods.
Mexican organized crime has not only crossed borders, but now operates with fully developed corporate structures inside Europe, exploiting weaknesses in immigration, commercial and security systems.
Meanwhile, in the American continent, both the United States and Mexico continue to face a massive wave of synthetic drugs that is destroying millions of families and entire communities.
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