Marbella mayor's stepson sentenced to nine years in prison for drug trafficking and money laundering

The Audiencia Nacional high court found that Broberg spearheaded a criminal network based on the Costa del Sol that specialised in the wholesale purchase of drugs, primarily marijuana and hashish, before smuggling them to northern Europe.

According to the judgment, Broberg headed the organisation from at least 2019. He was responsible for dealing directly with narcotics suppliers and coordinating with rival syndicates to ensure a steady influx of contraband.

The court heard that he delegated day-to-day operations to third parties, most notably Roberto Bayona Collado, who acted as the direct liaison with buyers and managed transport logistics.

Alongside his prison sentence, Broberg was given a 4.9-million-euro fine.

The judgment meticulously outlined a money laundering apparatus designed to funnel illicit drug profits back into the legal economy. Broberg used his legitimate business footprint in the Costa del Sol property sector to launder money, operating a real estate consultancy from Marbella's Plaza shopping centre.

The ruling also detailed several key operations that exposed Broberg's hands-on leadership. On 19 August 2019, a courier working for the syndicate arrived in Marbella but struggled to find the designated drop-off point. After contacting Broberg directly, the defendant gave him explicit over-the-phone directions to locate a specific horsebox lorry.

French authorities intercepted the vehicle days later in Arles, discovering 95 kilos of marijuana hidden inside, destined for the international market.

The court also established that in 2020, Broberg used EncroChat, the highly encrypted mobile phone network heavily favoured by organised crime syndicates, to evade police detection.

Operating under a pseudonym, he held covert communications with international suppliers to coordinate the arrival of bulk drug shipments shipped by boat from the Moroccan coast.

State prosecutors had initially sought an 18-year prison term. However, magistrates ultimately split the sentence into four and a half years for offences against public health (drug trafficking) and four and a half years for money laundering.