The Mossos d'Esquadra have dismantled a transnational criminal organization dedicated to arms trafficking, drug trafficking, and money laundering in an operation with special incidence in the regions of Girona, where the network had a prominent presence in Lloret de Mar and Tordera. The operation, coordinated by the Criminal Investigation Division with the collaboration of the National Police and Europol, was deployed on March 23 simultaneously in Catalonia, Andalusia, and Bulgaria.
The provisional balance is of 21 detainees. Among them is the alleged leader of the network, arrested in Sofia and considered by investigators a high-value target. In Catalonia, 14 people were arrested in Lloret de Mar, Tordera, Barcelona, Mataró, Sabadell, and Teià.
An investigation initiated by the illegal entry of weapons
The investigation started in March 2025, when agents detected firearms illegally introduced from Turkey and subsequently distributed to local criminal groups. From there, the DIC focused on a structure with the capacity to move weaponry and drugs on an international scale.
The investigators maintain that the organization acquired weapons in the Balkans and Turkey and brought them into Europe hidden in vehicles with hidden compartments. That weaponry ended up circulating in criminal environments and was frequently used as a currency of exchange in operations linked to drug trafficking.
Among the detected weapons also appeared those known as “Frankenstein” weapons, hybrids manufactured with original parts and artisanal components, although fully functional. Some of the alleged members of the network also had a history of blood crimes in Turkey.
Marijuana network between Catalonia, Malaga and the exterior
In the field of drug trafficking, the organization had infrastructure to acquire large quantities of marijuana in Catalonia and Malaga and then export them to Turkey and other European countries. The estimated transport capacity of the network reached up to one and a half tons per month, which gives an idea of its operational volume.
During the operation, the police forces seized seven semi-automatic pistols, a war weapon, in addition to silencers and sound suppressors. On the drug side, the seizure reached 587.56 kilos of marijuana and 76.54 kilos of hashish.
The value of the substance seized in the illicit market amounts to 4.4 million euros. The investigation remains open and the Mossos do not rule out new arrests in the coming days as they advance in the analysis of the documentation and material seized in the searches carried out at different points of the operation.