Spanish police on Tuesday said they broke up the local operations of a powerful Mexican drug cartel designated a terrorist organization by President Trump, making 20 arrests.
The Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) smuggled “large shipments of cocaine and methamphetamine” from South America for distribution in Spain and other European countries, Spanish police said in a statement.
The investigation started earlier this year when police detected drugs hidden in heavy industrial machinery, which was stored on estates near Madrid and the neighboring province of Avila and transported across Spain.
Among the detainees were two “priority targets” of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) as well as suspected members of the Italian Camorra mafia dedicated to transporting the drugs abroad.
The operation, carried out jointly with the DEA and Dutch authorities, seized 1.8 tons of cocaine, cash, cryptocurrency, weapons and vehicles.
Police released a five-minute video on social media showing officers conducting a raid and arresting suspects at an undisclosed location. Another part of the video shows welders opening heavy machinery to reveal packages of alleged drugs. Some of the bricks are marked “007” and others are labeled “Cash.”
Spain is a major gateway to Europe for North African hashish and South American cocaine, making the country a magnet for international criminal gangs.
Last month, Spanish police said they seized 6.5 tons of cocaine and arrested nine people after a U.S. tip-off led them to raid a ship off the Canary Islands. The DEA provided key “information” that enabled the operation to succeed, police said.
Earlier this year, the United States designated the CJNG as a “foreign terrorist organization,” after identifying it as one of the main organized criminal groups trafficking fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that has caused the deaths of thousands of Americans.
CJNG has been accused of using fake job advertisements to lure new members and of torturing and killing recruits who resist.
The cartel is led by Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, who is better known as “El Mencho.” Washington has offered a $15 million reward for information leading to his capture.
