Port of Malaga drug ring smashed after 21-tonne cocaine seizure

Working alongside the Ecuadorian National Police and coordinated by Europol, officers from the Guardia Civil seized more than 21 tonnes of cocaine and arrested 43 suspects across Spain and Ecuador.

Dubbed ‘Operation Mondragón’, the two-year investigation revealed that the syndicate used Malaga, alongside Algeciras and Valencia, as strategic routes to traffic massive consignments of cocaine from South America into Europe.

To bypass border security without raising suspicion, the criminal organisation established a complex corporate infrastructure in Spain to manage legal imports, using front companies to regularly conceal shipments originating from across the Atlantic.

Investigators from the Guardia Civil’s Central Operational Unit (UCO) established that the criminal enterprise relied on three distinct operational branches working in tandem.

The Spanish branch, based predominantly in La Rioja and comprising Spanish and Moroccan nationals, managed commercial logistics and received the drug shipments at port facilities.

At the source in South America, an Ecuadorian branch controlled the smuggling of drugs into shipping containers at major logistics hubs, including the Port of Guayaquil.

Meanwhile, Dubai-based financial leaders of Albanian origin injected large sums of money to finance the activities of the front companies operating in Spain.

The network was systematically dismantled in two distinct phases following initial container seizures in 2024. In March 2025, UCO officers deployed to Ecuador assisted local forces in arresting 36 suspects and executing 50 searches.

The second phase concluded in Spain with eight further arrests across La Rioja, Alicante, Seville and Cadiz. During a house raid in Arnedo, La Rioja, officers seized nearly €1m in hidden cash alongside freezing numerous properties, vehicles and financial accounts.

The case is now being handled by the Special Anti-Drugs Prosecutor’s Office and the National High Court as law enforcement intensifies surveillance along the Andalusian coastline to prevent key infrastructure from becoming established gateways for international drug syndicates.

Review the latest crime and judicial news reports