Spain dismantles 'narcobank' tied to cocaine trafficking ring

MADRID, Sept 8 (Reuters) - ‌Spanish police ​said ​on Tuesday they had dismantled an illegal banking network that served some of Europe's biggest ‌cocaine traffickers, arresting 21 people in several countries ⁠including in the Middle East and uncovering assets worth €20 million ($23.2 million).

The ‌network, dubbed the "narcobank", is suspected ‌of having financed cocaine shipments, moved money internationally outside the banking system, used cryptocurrency to settle transactions ​and provided money laundering services.

"Without this financing, these shipments could not be moved from one country ⁠to another. Drug trafficking on this scale would not be possible," chief ​anti-money laundering inspector Encarna Ortega told reporters.

Authorities said 14 suspects were arrested in Spain and ​seven others in the United ‌Arab Emirates, Egypt, the Netherlands and Sweden. Twelve more suspects remain at large. Europol, ⁠which supported the investigation, said that among those arrested was an underground banker it identifies as a high-value target.

The ⁠investigation stemmed from the 2021 seizure of 1.84 metric tons of ​cocaine aboard the vessel Nehir, which police said was later deliberately sunk in the northern Spanish port of Gijon to conceal ‌a further shipment of 1.65 tons.

Investigators seized 121 bank accounts holding €2.3 million, 48 properties ‌valued at more than €14 million and luxury vehicles worth ⁠more than €1.6 million as ‌well as other ​items.

($1 = 0.8611 euros)

(Reporting by Guillermo Martinez and Emma Pinedo; Editing by Andrei Khalip and Alison ‌Williams)

---

Serious News for Serious Traders! Try StreetInsider.com Premium Free!

---

You May Also Be Interested In

• Trump says he spoke with Venezuela's Rodriguez about elections
• Category 5 Hurricane Polo threatens Mexico’s coast, landfall expected Monday
• Hundreds of thousands in Paris cheer Pope Leo in largest event of French tour