Authorities in Spain announced the recent arrest of a Sinaloa Cartel cell that they had linked to drug trafficking, ransom kidnapping, and murders in that country. As part of the raids tied to the cell, Spanish authorities also dismantled a lab that cartel members used to remove synthetic drugs that had been infused into clothing to smuggle them into the country.
Spanish authorities announced the arrest of 14 individuals tied to the murders, as well as a sophisticated drug trafficking and money laundering operation, information released by the Spanish National Police revealed.
The case began earlier this year, when the group had kidnapped a man in early June and demanded that his loved ones pay 240,000 Euros for his release.
Even though the family had made an initial payment to a crypto wallet, authorities found the man’s heavily decomposed body on August 5 in Cataluña. From there, the Spanish National Police and the Cataluna Mossos d’Esquadra began an investigation into the murder.
The agents determined that the victim had done business with the cartel members, and he had traveled from Italy to meet with the leaders of the group. There, they had taken him and demanded the ransom. Authorities established the date of the kidnapping to have taken place Between May 31 and early June. They determined that relatives of the victims who lived in Kosovo were the ones who had received the ransom demand along with a photograph as proof of life.
Authorities could backtrack the victim’s steps from his travel from Italy to Spain. Then, they were able to learn that he had been held at a stash house in Barcelona and then eventually moved to another location in Tarragona, where they found his body.
Investigators were able to identify various members of the Sinaloa Cartel cell who were in the business of shipping drug-infused clothes from Mexico to Europe. The group would then use a clandestine lab to remove the drugs from the clothing and then package it for street-level distribution.
As part of the investigation, authorities raided five houses, a local restaurant, and a clandestine laboratory. They arrested 11 men and three women between the ages of 30 and 70 years.
Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at Iortiz@breitbart.com.
Brandon Darby is the managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart.com.