Tom Ewart Smith
TANIA Gomez, born to a Swedish mother and Spanish father, was one of the most wanted fugitives in Europe.
That is until last week, when she was arrested by the Policia Nacional in Tias, Lanzarote, on February 20, according to local newspaper Lancelot Digital.
Since March 2021, Gomez, dubbed a ‘beauty’ by reports in the tabloid media, has been on Europol’s top 50 most wanted list due to accusations of drug trafficking.
READ MORE: Watch: Most wanted German fugitive is arrested in Estepona after hiding among the expat community
The 33-year-old woman is accused of operating in a criminal organisation, based in Stockholm, that acts as a ‘money exchange office’ and ‘bank’ to launder money for Swedish gangs.
Gomez was known as the owner of dog rescue charity HundGarin, and was supposedly a caring animal lover, who gave stray dogs a new life.
However, according to Europol, she has also been linked ‘to a network of illegal animal ownership and their transport abroad’.
Gomez had an extradition order against her and it is believed that she fled to Lanzarote several years ago in order to hide.
The search for her began to intensify on February 7, when a police investigation began after officers were given new information from the Fugitive Group of the General Police Judicial Headquarters about her alleged location.
Her imprisonment has been ordered until the necessary extradition procedures are finished.
Swedish authorities are looking to give her a 14-year prison sentence for her drug trafficking and money laundering offences.
