Spanish police bust major Dubai-linked cocaine money-laundering network, 21 arrested
The Policía Nacional carried out a large-scale raid that dismantled a Dubai-based money-laundering scheme tied to international cocaine trafficking, resulting in 21 arrests, including 14 in Spain.
Spanish authorities launched a macro-operation against the ‘Banca de Dubai’, a reputed hub for laundering proceeds from global cocaine trafficking. The investigation, led by the Fiscalía Especial Antidroga of the Audiencia Nacional, was triggered by the 2021 interception of the cargo ship Nehir, which had been carrying large cocaine consignments before being scuttled near the port of Gijón. The Policía Nacional’s UDEF and Udyco units, supported by law-enforcement partners from the Netherlands, Belgium, the United States, the United Kingdom and Scotland, acted within Europol’s Operational Task Force TOKEN framework.
The coordinated raids resulted in 21 arrests, with 14 suspects taken into custody in Spain, and the issuance of 19 international arrest warrants, seven of which have already been carried out. Investigators also confirmed links between the Dubai bank and four known drug traffickers, including the Spanish figure known as “El Tigre,” who remains at large.
