The international law enforcement operation “Guayota” saw 11 Spanish nationals detained on the island of Tenerife and a Colombian who oversaw the trafficking from South America to Spain. Police confiscated assets worth 2 million euro (US$2.2 million).
Spanish money laundering-related intelligence first discovered large cash movements in Tenerife, which prompted a two-years-long international investigation that revealed a large-scale drug trafficking organization linked to Colombian and Peruvian cartels.
Cocaine arrived from South America to Western Africa and was then transferred to the Canary Islands, a Spanish archipelago off the coast of northwestern Africa. This way it
effectively entered the European Union.
The suspects owned legal business like vehicle dealerships, auto repair shops and long-term caravan parks which provided the criminals with cover to transport the drugs and launder money.
During one of the transfers, a total of 60kg of cocaine was hidden in a mobile home.
Europol also released a video that shows the arrests, bulks of cocaine and large amounts of cash.
All suspects are currently awaiting extradition to Spain.
