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CRIME

Spain arrests 10 for robbing Ukrainian refugees

Spanish police said Friday they arrested a criminal gang that targeted the homes of refugees who had fled the war in Ukraine and stole items worth more than €1 million.

Published: 4 March 2023 11:21 CET
Spain arrests 10 for robbing Ukrainian refugees
Photo: JAVIER SORIANO/AFP

The 10 suspects “had specialised in this type of victim since they usually bring all their savings and valuables”, Spain’s Guardia Civil police force said in a statement.

They are believed to have broken into seven homes of Ukrainian refugees in the eastern provinces of Alicante and Murcia on Spain’s Mediterranean coast, the statement added.

Police said they had recovered stolen goods and cash worth €1.25 million ($1.32 million), including a stamp collection valued at around half a million euros, jewellery and computers.

The gang is suspected of using trackers placed on victims’ vehicles to “study their routines” and determine when they were not at home.

Police said they had arrested seven Ukrainians and three Russians as part of the investigation and did not rule out uncovering more victims and making more arrests.

Spain has welcomed 160,000 Ukrainian refugees, who have been granted temporary status protection after fleeing their war-torn country.

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CRIME

Europol bust cocaine gang with arrests in Marbella and Canary Islands

Europol said Thursday that a crime ring smuggling drugs into Europe had collapsed as the result of an investigation involving 40 arrests and the seizure of eight tonnes of cocaine.

Published: 13 June 2024 14:52 CEST
Europol bust cocaine gang with arrests in Marbella and Canary Islands

The Hague-based European police force said the entire cartel, whose leaders were based in Turkey and Dubai, had been dealt a major blow after a final set of arrests Wednesday.

The vast three-year-long operation involved police forces from a dozen countries and ranged from Brazil to Spain via Turkey.

According to Europol, the final phase of the operation began with the discovery in August 2023 by the Spanish Guardia Civil of 700 kilos (1,540 pounds)of cocaine in a boat off the Canary Islands, crewed by Croat and Italian citizens.

After exchanging their findings with other police forces, the investigators found links with previous seizures which led to the identification of the masterminds.

In all, 40 people were arrested in six countries, including two top Croat members of the network, who were arrested at the end of 2023 in Istanbul, police said.

The last four arrests took place on Wednesday in Spain, according to Europol.

In one operation witnessed by an AFP journalist, heavily armed members of Spain’s Guardia Civil arrested a 40-year-old man at dawn at his home near Marbella, a seaside resort popular with drug traffickers.

The smugglers shipped cocaine from South America to logistical hubs in west Africa and the Canary Islands.

The drugs were then sent on to centres in Belgium, Croatia, Germany, Italy and Spain for distribution across Europe.

Many of the drug network’s assets, with a total value of several tens of millions of euros, had been seized or frozen, Europol added.

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