Spanish police dismantle Mediterranean smuggling network, 78 arrested in Spain and Algeria

Operation and arrests

Spanish authorities, coordinating with Europol and police in France, Portugal and Poland, announced on 7 August the dismantling of one of the largest migrant-smuggling networks detected in the Mediterranean. The operation, code-named "Salem" (or "Carbonita-Salem" per Spanish daily ABC), resulted in 78 arrests: 77 in Spain and one in Algeria. Four alleged leaders of the organisation were among those detained, according to Spain's Civil Guard. Authorities seized 18 high-speed motorboats with three or four outboard engines, valued at approximately €5 million, along with drugs, satellite phones, a handgun and over €25,000 in cash. Seventeen locations were searched across Almería, Murcia, Cartagena and Alicante.

Two-way smuggling route

The network operated a two-way maritime route between Algeria and Spain. High-speed boats transported synthetic drugs, primarily MDMA, from Spain to Algeria for distribution across North Africa, where demand for drugs such as MDMA is high. On the return journey, the same vessels smuggled irregular migrants to Spain's southeastern coast and the island of Ibiza. Investigators identified at least 64 smuggling operations through which more than 2,000 migrants were brought into Spain, generating profits exceeding €24 million ($27 million). The network charged up to €12,000 per migrant and packed as many as 50 people onto a single crossing.

Dangerous crossings and violence

The Civil Guard described the sea crossings as extremely dangerous. Migrants travelled in overcrowded boats at high speed, often through rough seas, without lights and, in most cases, without life jackets.

Sometimes the occupants were even tied down to prevent them from falling overboard during the crossing.

The organisation used what police called extraordinary violence against migrants, its own members and law enforcement. According to ABC, one of the network's principal leaders coordinated operations from inside Córdoba prison using a mobile phone and attempted to coerce protected witnesses. Members of the organisation received orders from an Algerian known by the alias "Yamaha", the newspaper reported. The network also rented a holiday apartment near the coast to monitor Civil Guard patrol movements and photograph when police vessels were refuelling.

International connections

Europol, headquartered in The Hague, said the network provided logistics services including vessel storage, transport, refuelling, maritime transfers, maintenance and counter-surveillance to other smuggling gangs. Most of those arrested were Algerian nationals with ties to criminal groups in France, Belgium, Portugal, Italy and Poland. ANSA reported links to the "Mocro Mafia" active in the Netherlands and Belgium, and to the "Milieu marseillais", the French mafia, groups that intensified activities in the Mediterranean during the summer season. Leaders directed operations from France and Belgium, according to Europol.

Migration context

The announcement came a week after a mass border rush on Spain's North African enclave of Ceuta saw 72,000 people enter the city, drawing international attention to migration pressures in the region. Interior Ministry data showed that while irregular migrant arrivals to Spain by sea fell 31% in January-July, this was largely due to a 60% drop in Canary Islands arrivals. Migration to mainland Spain rose 22% and to the Balearic Islands 10% over the same period, as smugglers shifted routes via Algeria.