Spain, Ecuador target cocaine smuggling ring, make 44 arrests
Summary
Spanish and Ecuadorian police have arrested 44 people and seized 21 tons of cocaine in a multiyear investigation into a smuggling ring. The operation, overseen by Europol, targeted a network financed by investors in Dubai and moving drugs from South America to Spain in shipping containers. The first arrests came in March 2025, when Ecuadorian police detained 36 suspects and raided about 50 properties.
Key Facts
- Spanish police said the operation with Ecuador’s National Police was overseen by Europol.
- The ring was financed by investors in Dubai, according to the Civil Guard.
- Spanish police said the smugglers hid cocaine among commercial goods shipped mainly from the port of Guayaquil.
- Spanish police confiscated 1 million euros in raids on properties in Spain.
Alejandro Martin, head of the synthetics section at the Central Unit Against Drugs and Organized Crime, speaks to the media at a press conference at the La Verneda police complex in Barcelona, Spain, Wednesday. EPA-Yonhap
MADRID — Spanish police on Wednesday said a multiyear investigation with Ecuadorian authorities to bust a drug smuggling ring led to 44 arrests and the confiscation of 21 tons of cocaine.
The Civil Guard said the operation with Ecuador’s National Police, which was overseen by Europol, targeted a ring that was financed by investors in Dubai and was smuggling drugs from South America into Spain in shipping containers.
The first arrests were in March 2025, when Ecuadorian police detained 36 suspects and raided about 50 properties in that country, according to the Civil Guard.
Spanish police then arrested eight suspects in raids on properties in Spain, confiscating 1 million euros ($1.15 million).
The smugglers hid the drugs among commercial goods shipping primarily from the port of Guayaquil.
Smugglers in Ecuador have been using commercial shipments to Europe to hide drugs, often among bananas.
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