Spain drug-trafficking: blow to hashish network with 17 arrests in Catalonia, Malaga and Italy

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The organisation had a complex and sophisticated structure in several countries

Friday, 27 February 2026, 14:50

The Mossos d'Esquadra (Catalan police), in collaboration with the Italian police, dismantled a drug criminal network on 10 February, with 17 detainees in various parts of Italy, Catalonia, Zaragoza and Malaga.

The investigations identified two different fractions of the criminal network. The one in Catalonia was in charge of transporting hashish from Morocco and setting up logistics centres to store it. The second group would receive the drugs and coordinate their transport to the north of Italy for distribution.

The two groups did not operate under a rigid pyramid structure, but functioned as a network with various interconnected fractions, each with a certain degree of autonomy but with functional dependence on each other. This ensured a constant flow of drugs from the source to the end market.

On the day of the operation, members of the Italian police participated in several entries and searches in Marbella. At the same time, members of the Catalan police went to Tauste (Zaragoza) for the same reason.

They carried out a total of 14 raids and seized more than 40 kilos of hashish, two high-end vehicles, two firearms (one real and one simulated) and more than 60,000 euros in cash.

Since the start of the operation in 2024, the police have seized more than 500 kilograms of hashish and ten kilograms of marijuana, with an estimated market value of three million euros.

According to the investigation, the network could have transported more than 400 additional kilograms of hashish that were not seized, which confirms the "high level of logistical sophistication" of the group.