Officers from the Guardia Civil have arrested two German fugitives linked to an active international drug trafficking network that acquired narcotics in Spain to ship them to Germany. The investigation was carried out by the Organised Crime and Anti-Drug Team (EDOA) of the Guardia Civil Command in Alicante after German authorities formally requested assistance.
The Federal Criminal Police Office of Germany (BKA) had been investigating the criminal group since 2021, intercepting tens of shipments containing significant quantities of drugs. Faced with increasing police pressure in Germany, the two men fled to Spain in June 2025.
The suspects, aged 33 and 35, are considered to be the alleged leader of the ring and a close associate, responsible for supplying and exporting large consignments of cocaine, amphetamines, and cannabis to German territory.
Investigators from the EDOA in Alicante initially located the leader in the province of Alicante and his accomplice on the island of Tenerife, requiring collaboration from the EDOA in Tenerife. Execution of the arrests was complicated for months due to the fugitives moving constantly to evade law enforcement.
The first operation took place on 28th January 2026, when officers arrested the associate in Tenerife. The ringleader was subsequently tracked down and arrested on 7th July inside a residence in Cartagena, in the province of Murcia.
Both men have been handed over to the National High Court, which ordered their remand in prison pending the formalisation of their extradition to Germany.
