Spanish police, with support from Europol, arrested 78 individuals in Spain and Algeria on Friday, August 7th, 2026, dismantling one of the largest criminal networks smuggling drugs and people across the western Mediterranean.

The group trafficked synthetic drugs, including 15,000 MDMA pills, firearms, and explosives from Spain and Portugal to Algeria. On the return journey, they smuggled migrants and weapons to the Spanish mainland and Ibiza using high-speed "ghost speedboats." Authorities seized 18 high-speed vessels valued at €5 million (£4.2 million), guns, and over €25,000 (£21,400) in cash during the operation, which involved searches at 17 locations across Spain, including Alicante, Almería, Cartagena, and Murcia.

Europol described the network as having "evolved from drug trafficking into a duel-flow criminal enterprise designed to maximise profits," facilitating illicit goods and people movement across the Western Mediterranean. Migrants were charged up to €12,000 (£10,200) each along routine routes from Algeria to Spain, with over 50 migrants smuggled in a single trip and estimated profits from migrant smuggling exceeding €24 million (£20 million).

"The group used these boats to organise transfers in international waters near the Spanish coastline," Europol stated. The network is also linked to other criminal activities such as violent robberies, extortion, illegal detentions, and money laundering.

This announcement follows a recent influx of roughly 78,000 migrants into the Spanish North African territory of Ceuta, attributed to online rumors about an open border. Most migrants have returned to Morocco, but between 3,000 and 5,000 remain, according to Ceuta's leader Juan Jesús Vivas.

Sources