Spanish and Serbian authorities dismantled a large drug trafficking network through a joint investigation team with Eurojust support, arresting 43 members of a Serbian organised crime group across both countries for producing and distributing marijuana and hashish.[1] The network ran plantations in the Spanish provinces of Zaragoza and Tarragona, where fellow Serbian nationals were exploited to cultivate the drugs, mainly for sale in Germany.[1]
The main suspects were to face charges of drug trafficking, migrant smuggling and money laundering, with most of the proceeds laundered through shell companies in Serbia, Spain and other European countries.[1] Officers dismantled 14 indoor plantations, one hidden under a Russian orthodox church, and the group ran a professional distribution chain using lorries registered to front companies in other EU states.[1]
During the June action day and earlier interventions in January, coordinated with Eurojust and Europol, the Spanish Guardia Civil and the Serbian Police carried out 19 searches and seized more than 17,000 marijuana plants, over 880 kg of marijuana buds and at least 130 kg of produced marijuana and hashish resins.[1] About 250,000 euros in cash, computer and telecommunications equipment, a luxury vehicle and a handgun were also seized, on top of 400 kg of marijuana and almost 4 kg of hashish intercepted from the group since January.[1] The operation was led by investigative court chamber no. 2 and the Huesca prosecutor’s office in Spain with Serbia’s organised-crime prosecutor in Belgrade.[1]
