Spain, Europol bust Algeria-Spain migrant, drug and weapons smuggling ring

Thehague,UPDATED: Aug 7, 2026 18:28 IST

Spanish authorities, backed by Europol and police forces from several countries, have dismantled a major criminal network accused of trafficking migrants, drugs and weapons across the western Mediterranean. The operation highlighted what officials described as a highly organised and highly profitable smuggling system linking Algeria and Spain.

Europol and Spain's Civil Guard said on Friday that the group was among the "largest criminal organisations specialising in maritime human trafficking in the Mediterranean". Europol said the network arranged "storage, transport, refuelling, maritime transfers, vessel maintenance, and counter-surveillance services" for other smuggling gangs.

The operation was launched by Spanish authorities in 2023 and involved Spain's Civil Guard and Police, along with law enforcement agencies from France, Poland and Portugal, with Europol supporting coordination from The Hague. Europol said an "action day" on June 16 led to 77 arrests in Spain and one in Algeria, and the seizure of 18 motorboats, including high-speed vessels, drugs, satellite phones, a handgun and more than 25,000 euros in cash. Video released by Spanish authorities showed officers arresting suspects and counting stacks of 50-euro notes recovered during searches.

Spain's Civil Guard said the network ran a two-way smuggling route between Algeria and Spain, transporting drugs to Algeria and then packing boats with migrants for the return trip to Spanish coastal towns. "They are considered responsible for at least 64 migration operations through which they allegedly smuggled more than 2,000 migrants into Spain, obtaining profits exceeding 24 million euros," the Civil Guard said. It added that four of the network's alleged leaders were among those arrested.

The Civil Guard said the group "used extremely violent methods to protect the vessels and resist law enforcement". Europol said the network operated a fleet that included "ghost speedboats, vessels designed to avoid registration and detection, which are prohibited in Spain". Investigators also believe suspects involved in the migrant smuggling "perpetrated sexual assaults, physical abuse, and placed migrants in inhuman conditions in makeshift housing," the agency said.

The announcement came a week after irregular migration to Spain drew international attention when tens of thousands of migrants entered Ceuta, the Spanish territory in North Africa, in a surge blamed on online rumours about an open border. Most of the migrants have since returned to Morocco. Officials said the latest operation dismantled a network accused of moving drugs towards Algeria and migrants towards Spain through a cross-Mediterranean smuggling system.

With PTI Inputs

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