Authorities in Spain raided the base of operations of the terrorist organization Cartel Jalisco New Generation in that country and uncovered ties that the cartel had with the Italian Camorra.
The Cartel Jalisco (CJNG) is one of the six Mexican drug cartels that have been designated as foreign terrorist organizations by the U.S. government. The operation helps to paint a picture of the international reach that Mexican cartels have, as they have been able to set up operations in various European and Asian countries, flooding them with cocaine, methamphetamine, and other drugs.
The investigation began earlier this year, when Spain’s National Police (PN) received intelligence about large-scale quantities of cocaine being smuggled into the country hidden within shipments of industrial machinery, information from PN revealed. Once the drugs were in Spain, the criminal organization would move them to a series of rural properties near the cities of Madrid and Avila. From there, the cartel would use various vehicles with hidden compartments to move the drugs to other cities for local distribution. Spanish authorities revealed that a businessman was acting as the cartel’s frontman by suing several LLCs that he had control over, which would provide the criminal organization with the needed support to move the drugs into the country and help them distribute.
In September, Spanish authorities were able to seize a shipment of drugs that was hidden within industrial machinery that was moving from Spain to Italy. For the move, the Spanish cell of CJNG was working with a capo of the Neapolitan Camorra, the Amato-Pagano clan.
As part of the ongoing investigation, Spanish police began a series of raids that led to 20 arrests and the seizure of close to 2,000 pounds of cocaine, 700 pounds of methamphetamine, $15,000 in crypto, 30 pounds of silver, 15 vehicles, and three handguns.
Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart News Foundation. He co-founded Breitbart News Foundation’s Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at Iortiz@breitbart.com.
Brandon Darby is the managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart News Foundation’s Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart.com.