Ten British nationals - including two Scots - have been arrested in an investigation into an international cartel which trafficked drugs from South America to Europe.
Seven of those arrested were expats living in Malaga, Spain, while another was living in Portugal.
Half of the Britons detained are women, and law enforcement agencies believe a money laundering scam led by businesswomen was used to clean drug money.
The three-year operation began in 2020 and resulted in a Spanish-registered yacht being intercepted 1,200 miles east of Martinique in the Caribbean by a French navy frigate on December 18, 2023. Officials said 1.2 tonnes of cocaine were found on board.
The skipper, a 30-year-old man from Stornoway, Isle of Lewis, was arrested along with two other British nationals.
READ MORE: Stornoway man arrested by French navy with £96m of cocaine on yacht
At the time, the National Crime Agency (NCA) said the estimated street value in the UK of the drugs would have been around £96 million.
An additional 0.3 tonnes of cocaine was seized by law enforcement agencies including Spain’s Policia Nacional, Norway’s National Criminal Investigation Service, the US Drug Enforcement Administration and the European Maritime Analysis and Operations Centre, with the support of Europol.
A total of 52 people have been arrested, with eight boats, 36 vehicles, firearms and ammunition seized.
The NCA said the gang was led by a Norwegian believed to have been trading in drugs for more than two decades.
In 2020, intelligence identified a British crime group based in Spain responsible for trafficking cocaine across the Atlantic. It owned a fleet of vessels used to transport drugs from South America to Europe via Spain.
The long-running investigation identified routes used to bring drugs to Spain for onward distribution, including into the UK.
Sailing routes included to and from the Spanish coastal cities Valencia, Alicante and Malaga, to Brazil, Colombia, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, Saint Lucia, Barbados and Panama.
The NCA said the Norwegian leader had the full trust of Colombian and Mexican drug cartels, and co-ordinated the production of the drugs and its transportation through South America until it could be shipped to Spain.
The investigation found drug money was reinvested in new operations and laundered through a global network of businesswomen.
Three women from Boston, Lincolnshire, aged 19, 38, and 28, who were all living in Malaga were arrested.
A 54-year-old woman from Chelmsford, Essex, and a 49-year-old woman from Nottingham were also detained, as were a 63-year-old man from Withernsea, East Riding of Yorkshire, and a 24-year-old British man. All four were living in Malaga.
Also detained was a 37-year-old man from Bracknell, Berkshire, who was living in Portugal, as well as the 30-year-old yacht skipper from Lewis and another Scottish man aged 34.
Neil Keeping, NCA regional manager in Spain, said: “This Spanish-led international operation has dismantled a major drug trafficking crime group and resulted in the arrests of 10 British nationals – eight from England and two from Scotland.
“The NCA’s international network has played a leading role in sharing intelligence with overseas partners to intercept huge shipments of drugs and trace key members of the criminal enterprise.
“A portion of the Class A drugs seized would have undoubtedly been destined for the UK, where its supply at street level fuels violence and exploitation, and brings misery to our communities.
“Tackling global crime groups such as this one requires strong collaboration with international partners, and our efforts alongside them continue to ensure these networks are demolished.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here