The Guardia Civil has arrested the leader of a criminal drug trafficking organisation in Ibiza, considered by Europol to be a high-value target, who ran a network of drug traffickers, some of them family members, based in the Netherlands. Officers suspect that the arrested man had been living in Ibiza for three or four years, travelling regularly to the Netherlands, where two other family members have been arrested by the Dutch authorities.
According to the Directorate General of the Civil Guard, Operation Tulp, carried out by officers from the Central Operational Unit (UCO), was initiated by the National Investigation and Intervention Unit belonging to the Dutch Police, following chats used by suspects in a previous operation. For more than two years, Dutch investigators have been unmasking this family network dedicated to drug trafficking and money laundering in different European countries, where several cocaine seizures have been made, resulting in a total of 600 kilos seized.
In the course of the investigations, the officers detected that one of the family members was based on the island of Ibiza, so the Central Operational Unit of the Guardia Civil began to cooperate in order to locate him. After months of joint investigation between the two police forces, three members of the criminal network were arrested in December and numerous house searches were carried out in both the Netherlands and Spain.
During the searches, numerous electronic devices, documentation relevant to the investigation and several vehicles were seized, as well as large amounts of cash and luxury watches. The investigation was led by Ibiza Magistrates’ Court No. 4 and carried out by the Central Operational Unit of the Guardia Civil, through the Organised Crime Team based in the Balearics, in conjunction with the National Investigation and Intervention Unit of the Dutch Police, and under the coordination of Europol.
Europol, officially the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation, is the law enforcement agency of the European Union (EU). Established in 1998, it is based in The Hague, Netherlands, and serves as the central hub for coordinating criminal intelligence and supporting the EU's Member States in their efforts to combat various forms of serious and organized crime, as well as terrorism.
Europol's main objective is to enhance the effectiveness and cooperation between the law enforcement agencies of the EU member states. To achieve this, Europol facilitates the exchange of information and intelligence, provides analytical support, and offers specialized training and expertise. Some of the key areas of focus for Europol include drug trafficking, human trafficking, cybercrime, money laundering, and counterterrorism.
The Agency has no executive powers, and its officials are not entitled to arrest suspects, conduct independent investigations, or act without prior approval from competent authorities in the member states. Instead, Europol's role is to support and facilitate the efforts of national law enforcement agencies within the EU.