14 suspects linked to the ‘Sinaloa Cartel’ are arrested in Spain

Madrid. The Catalan regional police, the Mossos d’Esquadra, arrested 14 alleged members of the Sinaloa cartel in Barcelona and are linked to the murder of a 46-year-old Italian citizen, whose body was found in a forest in a town located about two hours from the Catalan capital, Botarell. Of the detainees, the majority of Mexican nationality, there are 11 men and three women and they are between 30 and 70 years old.

In the second operation in less than a month against the Sinaloa cartel in Spain, the police force of Catalonia found the trail of this small group with alleged Mexican roots following the disappearance of an Italian citizen. This new blow to the structure of the Sinaloa cartel in Spain adds to what occurred two weeks ago in Madrid and Toledo, where five people were arrested, including an alleged chemist sent from Mexico to supervise and develop the establishment of laboratories for the manufacture of drugs such as fentanyl and methamphetamine in Spain.

The Catalan police reported that the operation against the Sinaloa cartel allowed the location and arrest of the alleged leader of the group, who is accused of crimes such as international drug trafficking, money laundering, kidnapping and murder. The evidence confirming the link of these 14 people with drug trafficking in Mexico was found after searching up to five homes and a restaurant in several towns in the vicinity of Barcelona, ​​where a laboratory for the extraction of methamphetamine impregnated with solid surfaces, such as pieces of clothing.Doses of this same substance already prepared for consumption, a large amount of ecstasy and a marijuana plantation, in addition to firearms, technological material and money, were also found.

According to the statement from the Catalan police and the Spanish National Police, the investigation of the case, developed jointly by both bodies, began at the end of June when, through Interpol in Kosovo and Europol in Italy, they learned of the complaint. of a father and a woman about the kidnapping of their relative in Barcelona, ​​for which they were asked to pay a ransom of 240 thousand euros. “Later, on August 5, the agents located the body of a man, with signs of violence and in an advanced state of decomposition, in a wooded area of ​​the municipality of Botarell (Tarragona). The investigation revealed that the 46-year-old man had been kidnapped by members of the organization now detained between May 31 and June 2. “The victim allegedly worked for the gang and had traveled from Italy to Barcelona to meet with some of the leaders of the criminal network,” the statement said.

The family of the Italian citizen informed the police that he had made a payment in cryptocurrencies as a result of the pressure he received from the kidnappers and that it amounted to 32 thousand dollars and that it was made in a virtual cryptocurrency wallet, thus following the instructions of the organization. “Despite the payment, the relatives never received news about the victim and the kidnappers continued to demand more payments. But it was thanks to the intervention of the police that the vehicle in which the victim traveled from Italy to the Catalan capital was located in a municipal warehouse in Barcelona, ​​as well as indications that the kidnappers used that car to transport the man’s body from a house located in Sant Andreu de Llavaneres (Barcelona) to the wooded area of ​​Botarell. According to police, detainees often received packages transported from Mexico with methamphetamine on clothing. Once in Catalonia, they were in charge of processing the substance.