The suspects, who had ties to the Italian ‘ndrangheta, were arrested for their involvement in large-scale drug trafficking and money laundering. The criminal gang is believed to have used vehicles equipped with hidden compartments and speedboats to transport cocaine and cannabis between Spain and Italy.

The sting follows a complex operation by Spanish and Italian authorities, with support from Europol and Eurojust.

 As communicated by the Spanish Guardia Civil, an operation in cooperation with Carabinieri and Guardia di Finanza Italiana hit a core group active in Ibiza in particular, as well as an Albanian criminal organisation with related activities on the island

. In all, 32 people were arrested, including Italian, Albanian and Hungarian nationals, both in Ibiza and elsewhere in Spain. The raid took place between 13 and 17 September, but was only known today. According to investigators, the main activity of the dismantled Italian group was drug trafficking, particularly cocaine. 

The Albanian group supplied drugs and weapons to the Italian group, the Guardia Civil explained. The blitz, called ‘Operation Dragon Ball’, involved 400 Spanish agents, who were supported by the Italian Dia (Anti-Mafia Investigative Directorate) and intervened in Ibiza and other parts of Spain. In the operation, 18 kilos of methamphetamine, 4.5 kilos of cocaine, 870,000 ecstasy tablets, two firearms, over 300,000 euros in cash and 23 high-end vehicles were confiscated.