A major international police operation led by Spain has dismantled what investigators describe as one of the largest organised criminal networks operating migrant smuggling routes across the western Mediterranean, with 78 suspects arrested and a fleet of high-speed boats seized.
The investigation, coordinated by Spain’s Guardia Civil and National Police with support from Europol and law enforcement agencies in France, Portugal and Poland, targeted a sophisticated organisation accused of transporting both migrants and illegal drugs between Spain and Algeria.
According to investigators, the network ran a two-way trafficking operation, using powerful speedboats to carry synthetic drugs, including ecstasy, from Spain to Algeria before returning packed with migrants bound for Spain’s Mediterranean coastline and the island of Ibiza.
The arrests followed a coordinated action day on 16 June, during which 77 suspects were detained in Spain and another in Algeria. Officers also seized 18 speedboats, including so-called ‘ghost’ vessels designed to avoid registration and detection, along with drugs, satellite phones, a handgun and more than €25,000 in cash. Authorities estimate the boats alone were worth more than €5 million.
Spanish investigators believe the criminal organisation carried out at least 64 migrant-smuggling crossings, transporting more than 2,000 people into Spain and generating profits exceeding €24 million. Police said the group charged migrants as much as €12,000 per person, with some journeys carrying up to 50 passengers.
The Guardia Civil said four of the alleged leaders of the organisation were among those arrested.
Authorities described the sea crossings as exceptionally hazardous, with migrants travelling ‘crammed together, at high speed, in rough seas’.
‘On some occasions, passengers were even tied up to prevent them from falling into the water during the journey,’ police said.
Europol said the organisation offered an extensive range of services to other criminal groups involved in cross-border trafficking, including boat storage, transport, refuelling, maintenance, maritime transfers and counter-surveillance operations.
Spanish authorities launched the investigation in 2023, with Europol providing intelligence support and helping coordinate the international operation.
Investigators also allege members of the network used violence to protect their vessels and evade police intervention. Europol said evidence gathered during the investigation suggests migrants were subjected to sexual assaults, physical abuse and forced to live in inhumane makeshift accommodation before being transported.
Spain’s Guardia Civil described the organisation as one of the country’s largest criminal groups specialising in maritime human trafficking across the Mediterranean.
While most irregular sea arrivals into Spain continue to use the Atlantic route from West Africa to the Canary Islands, authorities say migration along the western Mediterranean corridor between Algeria and mainland Spain has increased in recent months, even as arrivals in the Canary Islands have declined. The case highlights the growing sophistication and profitability of criminal networks exploiting shifting migration routes across the region.
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🚨 Una ruta, dos negocios criminales
— Policía Nacional (@policia) August 7, 2026
Transportaban drogas hacia #Argelia y volvían con migrantes de manera irregular@policia y Guardia Civil, con apoyo de #Europol, desarticulan una de las mayores redes de tráfico marítimo de personas
🚤 18 embarcaciones incautadas
👥 +2.000… pic.twitter.com/smdk5JMS7V
#OperacionesGC | 🚨 Operación conjunta de la @guardiacivil, @policia y @Europol contra una de las mayores redes de tráfico marítimo de personas en el Mediterráneo.
— Guardia Civil (@guardiacivil) August 7, 2026
👥 78 personas detenidas, 27 en prisión provisional y 18 embarcaciones de alta velocidad intervenidas. La… pic.twitter.com/0KOwgn9Djw
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