Europe Drug Trafficking

Spanish authorities have arrested at least 78 people and seized 18 high-speed boats worth more than five million euros in a crackdown on one of the Mediterranean's largest migrant and narcotics smuggling networks.

The Algerian-origin organization ferried MDMA from Spain to North Africa and returned with migrants, charging up to 12,000 euros per person across at least 64 crossings, generating profits exceeding 24 million euros. The operation by the National Police and Civil Guard, with Europol support, netted 15,000 MDMA pills, 61 kilograms of hashish, cocaine, methamphetamine, a .38 revolver, a replica submachine gun, and roughly 26,675 euros in cash during 17 property searches in Alicante, Almería, Cartagena, and Murcia. Twenty-seven suspects were placed in pre-trial detention.

Among those arrested were four top leaders and the network's hawalader. The ring, investigated since 2023, had ties to the Dutch mocro maffia and Marseille's criminal milieu.

Costa Rica has opened an investigation into 116 police officers suspected of ties to drug trafficking, human smuggling, and alcohol contraband networks, the government announced Wednesday.

An internal report by the Public Security Ministry's criminal intelligence directorate identified officers who allegedly protected criminals and coordinated clandestine aircraft landings carrying narcotics. The document, published Tuesday by La Nación, was reportedly delivered in April to aides of former president Rodrigo Chaves, who now serves as finance minister under President Laura Fernández.

Security Minister Gerald Campos said the file would be forwarded to prosecutors to pursue charges against the implicated agents. The probe comes as Costa Rica grapples with rising violence, having recorded 16.8 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants in 2025.

Portuguese authorities have seized five tonnes of cocaine from a Hong Kong-flagged container ship off the coast of Sines, bringing the country's total drug confiscations this year to roughly 28 tonnes, surpassing the entire 2025 haul.

The Polícia Judiciária, working with the navy and air force, intercepted the five-deck vessel approximately 1,185 kilometres west of Lisbon before escorting it into the Port of Sines in the early hours. Three foreign nationals — Italian, Colombian and Indian — were arrested, including one crew member and two individuals found aboard in irregular status. Police said the cocaine was destined for transfer to smaller vessels at sea before reaching European shores.

Dubbed Operation SkyDrop, the investigation was conducted under the Maritime Analysis and Operations Centre framework with cooperation from Britain's National Crime Agency and Spain's Policía Nacional.