Spanish police dismantle DDP gang's synthetic drug lab, seize 65,000 MDMA pills and 32 kg of ketamine
Operation Larimar targeted a branch of the Dominican Don't Play gang, uncovering a clandestine laboratory with capacity to produce 500,000 pills per week and move shipments of up to 5 million.
The operation
Spanish National Police have dismantled a synthetic drug manufacturing and distribution network linked to the violent youth gang Dominican Don't Play (DDP). The investigation, code-named Operation Larimar, began in early 2026 after a tip-off from international police cooperation channels. Officers identified a structured criminal group with a clear division of roles: a leader, an operational and commercial liaison, a financial manager who owned the stash, a chemist specialised in synthesis, and several collaborators handling logistics and security.
On 28 April 2026, police intercepted the main suspects near a hotel in the Alcobendas–San Sebastián de los Reyes area as they were about to hand over a drug shipment. Six people were arrested, and five were later remanded in custody by court order. Four properties were searched in Madrid, Alcobendas and San Sebastián de los Reyes.
The seizure
Inside two suitcases the suspects were carrying, officers found approximately 65,000 cloud-shaped MDMA tablets weighing close to 23 kg, and more than 32 kg of a crystalline substance provisionally identified as ketamine. In one of the searched properties, a clandestine laboratory was discovered, equipped with a manual press, dies, compaction punches, a packaging machine, laboratory glassware and precursor chemicals.
Police estimate the seized drugs would have fetched between 1.7 and 2 million euros on the black market. Each ecstasy pill sells for 6–10 euros, while a gram of ketamine goes for 30–40 euros.
- Investigation begins after international tip-off about a suspect linked to a criminal organisation in Spain.
- Police intercept six suspects near a hotel in Alcobendas–San Sebastián de los Reyes during a drug delivery; 65,000 MDMA pills and 32 kg of ketamine seized.
- National Police announce the dismantling of the DDP-linked network and the discovery of a clandestine laboratory.
The network
The group had the capacity to produce 500,000 pills per week and to handle consignments of up to 5 million tablets, according to investigators. Distribution channels reached Madrid's nightlife scene. Sources suspect that part of the drugs was manufactured locally and the rest imported from abroad.
They are well known to police, with criminal records from their past as gang members. They moved between San Sebastián de los Reyes, Alcobendas and Carabanchel.
Background
Dominican Don't Play is a violent youth organisation that Spain's Supreme Court has ordered to be dissolved. The involvement of DDP-linked members, police said, significantly increased the network's operational capacity and dangerousness. The suspects are aged between 30 and 43. If the police account is confirmed in court, they face particularly severe penalties for large-scale synthetic drug trafficking.
