Walter Finch
AN accused narcotrafficker was released after posting €250,000 in bail – only for his associates who raised the money to be arrested for money laundering.
While police in La Linea del Concepcion had ‘little option’ but to release the narco suspect, they immediately set about investigating the origins of his bail money.
They ended up making six arrests and taking down a ring that laundered the proceeds of drug trafficking in the narco hotspot of the Campo de Gibraltar.
The operation started with the arrest of a major figure in the logistical and management operations of hashish trafficking groups in the crime-soaked region.
He had a long history of arrests related to ‘public health offences’ and criminal organisation membership, according to police sources.
His bail money was raised primarily by two companies, one located in La Coruña in the north of Spain and one in the neighbouring town of Estepona.
The investigation, by the Economic and Fiscal Crime Unit (UDEF) of La Línea de la Concepción, pulled back the curtain a little on how the narco gangs of the Campo de Gibraltar launder their cash.
The administrators of the companies in La Coruña and Estepona were arrested, as well as four others who had helped out by opening multiple bank accounts under various guises.
In total, 38 bank accounts across five different banking institutions were scrutinised, confirming that the €250,000 bail was entirely sourced from cash.
With the money trail ending at cash deposits, and thus of unknown origin, investigators were able to conclusively link it to illicit activities.
“We had to let him out on bail, the origins of the money is a separate judicial matter,” police sources told the Olive Press.
The investigation has been hailed as an ‘inflexion point’ in combating the money laundering networks that underpin the thriving narco activity in the Campo de Gibraltar.
“This is the first time this form of money laundering has been probed, breaking the cycle of impunity enjoyed by drug traffickers accustomed to covering hefty bails with proceeds from drug sales,” the police said.
