Spanish police dismantle a large drug gang from China. The gang cultivated and transported drugs to France, Portugal, the Netherlands, Germany, Romania and the United Kingdom. The investigation started in 2019.
It concerns a drug gang called Bang de Fujian that mainly traded in marijuana. Police arrested 65 people, almost all from China. In total, the operation involved around 350 agents from the Spanish Policía Nacional. It was a joint operation with the Mossos d’Esquadra and Europol.
Chinese gang controlled drug trafficking from Catalonia
Catalonia was the hub of the cultivation, trade and transport of the drugs. In addition to drug trafficking, the gang is also suspected of money laundering, identity theft, illegal tapping of electricity and document fraud.
29 raids across 5 Spanish cities
The joint task force carried out a total of 29 raids across five Spanish cities, namely Barcelona, Tarragona, Oviedo, Gijón and Bilbao. The officers found three large cannabis plantations. Police planned all raids on April 14, 2021 and managed to arrest 65 members of the drug gang. After the raids, they discovered 40,000 marijuana plants. In addition, they found the gang was illegally tapping electricity.
The Spanish police seized a total of 8.5 kilos of cocaine, 2 kilos of XTC, almost €200,000 in cash and more than 380 kilos of marijuana packed in transportation boxes.
Spanish police intercepted drug packages in 2019
The investigation into the Chinese drug gang started at the end of 2019 when officers intercepted several packages containing marijuana. The Spanish police say the gang had a parcel service that transported the drugs throughout Europe. Hundreds of packages were sent from Catalonia to France, Portugal, the Netherlands, Germany, Romania and the United Kingdom.
