Police in Spain and Ecuador arrested 44 suspects and seized 21 tonnes of cocaine in a multi-year operation targeting an international drug ring allegedly financed by Dubai-based Albanian investors, Spain’s Interior Ministry announced. Investigators revealed that the financiers funneled large sums of money into Spanish companies to camouflage the drug shipments.
The probe began in 2024 after authorities intercepted multiple shipping containers loaded with cocaine in Brazil, Ecuador and the Spanish ports of Málaga, Algeciras and Valencia. The crackdown escalated in March 2025 when Ecuadorian police raided about 50 properties and detained 36 suspects, while Spanish authorities arrested eight others across several provinces and seized 1 million euros ($1.15 million) in cash.
