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ISSUE NO. 1787
3 - 9 October 2019
Newspaper in Spain 2017 & 2018
COSTA BLANCA NORTH
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‘BEAUTIFUL’ RESULT The largest criminal network on the Costa Blanca, believed to have laundered at least €7 million, has been shut down as part of a 10-year operation which resulted in the arrest of 40 people. ACCORDING to the National Police, the criminal organisation was dedicated to drug trafficking and money laundering. The operation - known as Beautiful - was launched in 2008 and as well as numerous arrests across the region, has resulted in the seizure of almost 4,000 kilos of cocaine, an army of firearms and a large number of high-end vehicles and luxury boats. As part of the operation centred on the Costa Blanca North, a luxury car dealership was reportedly raided by and a number of luxury cars and motorbikes were seized. Several hotel owners in the region have allegedly been arrested and questioned by police, while a 25-metre yacht was also seized in the port of Denia. It is also alleged that the ex-director of a local football club has been implicated in
N AT I O N A L POLICE: Carried out numerous arrests.
the scandal. One-hundred troops have carried out numerous arrests and a total of 13 searches have taken place in Alicante, Valencia, Madrid and Barcelona. So far, more than €600,000 have been seized in cash from several homes, more than 600 bank accounts have been blocked and
300 properties valued at more than €20 million will form part of the investigation. The suspects are charged with laundering operations exceeding €7 million. The criminal organisation was mainly based in the Alicante region, although it had strong ramifications in Madrid, Galicia, Valencia,
Murcia and Barcelona. The network was allegedly engaged in drug trafficking in the European Union and laundered all its profits with different methods and systems. EUROPOL collaborated with officers from Colombia, Portugal, Sweden, Romania, France and the British agency NCA.
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