The Spanish Civil Guard announced on Tuesday that it has shut down a human trafficking and drug smuggling organization predominantly comprised of Algerian nationals.
A Civil Guard sting operation, which started in early 2023, targeted an Algerian national suspected of heading up the criminal network, facilitating logistics, and deploying personnel to conduct illegal migration along the coast of the provinces of Alicante, Murcia, and Almeria.
Authorities apprehended seven Algerian nationals during a search and recovered 68 kg of methamphetamines, two vehicles, 8,780 euros in cash, a detonating firearm, and a number of mobile phones, according to the Civil Guard.
The organization, funded by drug trafficking as well as migrant transit, used “taxi boats,” semi-rigid boats with powerful engines, to transport drugs and migrants. Members of the group in Spain handled logistics, such as providing fuel and cover to boat operators upon their arrival in Spain. The criminals also transported Algerian citizens carrying drugs from Algeria to Spanish coasts.
In Algeria, the organization operated a recruitment network of people in charge of collecting agreed-upon sums before departing on illegal trips, which were aided by a currency exchange process known as “hawala.”
The Spanish Civil Guard has charged the seven Algerians with “drug trafficking, human trafficking, organizing and belonging to a criminal organization, endangering public health and property, and receiving stolen goods.”