27 June 2024 , 13:38
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Southern Spain has become known as the Costa del Crime because British criminals would escape justice at home by moving there.
But it’s also a haven for Italian organised crime groups such as the Mafia, the Camorra and the ‘Ndrangheta, who are increasingly active on the islands of Lanzarote, Gran Canaria and Tenerife.
While Tenerife has been long been seen by Brits as just one more Spanish holiday destination its more sinister side has come into focus as investigators probe the disappearance of Lancashire teenager Jay Slater. Police on the island are said to be exploring all possibilities – including conspiracies he has been kidnapped.
Gang experts have said in the past Italian organised crime groups are increasingly working with local criminals to bring cocaine into Europe from Latin America – often using the Canary Islands as a staging post of illegal shipments. A Europol statement said these 'Ndrangheta gangsters would routinely use “violence and torture” to intimidate their rivals.
"The presence of Italian Mafia groups across Spain is multidimensional,” writes organised crime expert Professor Anna Sergi. “The lifestyle, similar climate, and language are considered some of the reasons why Italian Mafia members …have often chosen Spain as new country of activity and residence."
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A 38-year-old N’drangheta chieftain– named only by the initials M.V being dragged from his €3million Tenerife villa by Spanish police (Guardia Civil)Professor Sergi explains that the feared ‘Ndrangheta, said to be considered one of the most powerful organised crime groups in the world, is the main Mafia-type crime organisation operating in Southern Spain. The group tends to keep a lower profile than other Mafia-type organisations but it's hugely successful. They reportedly made €53billion profit in 2013 alone.
Spain’s Balearic Islands are well known for drug trafficking – a senior member of the De Micco clan was recently caught running drugs into Ibiza. But anywhere that tourists gather is a prime target for drug dealers: a member of the clan Mazzarella (from San Giovanni a Teduccio, Naples) was recently arrested on drugs offences in Gran Canaria.
Eight Mafia gangsters, as well as a Colombian cartel boss, were arrested in a major operation on Tenerife in December. An armed police raid on a Tenerife villa uncovered some 950 kilos of uncut cocaine, as well as a stash of weapons and €12,000 in cash.
The Canaries are seen as a convenient staging-post for moving drugs into Europe (Getty Images)In August last year, a 700kg cocaine seizure helped Spanish police and Europol dismantle another Mafia-linked criminal network that investigators believe was trafficking of huge consignments of cocaine through the Canary Islands.
The Italian nationals, who maintained a “high standard of living” despite having no visible income, were intercepted sailing their luxury yacht north-west of Gran Canaria. The operation, officials say, underlined the “geostrategic importance” of the Canary Islands in international drug trafficking.
A local media report states that 13 men caught with 5kg of cocaine, 94kg of hashish, and 26,000 euros in cash were moving drugs by sea from the ferry port in Agaete (Gran Canaria) to Santa Cruz, on Tenerife, before distributing it around the island.
In a joint operation with Europol and Italian anti-mafia investigators, Spanish police seized 700 kilos of cocaine and arrested four men with links to the ‘Ndrangheta and a Balkans cartel (Guardia Civil)Synchronised police raids in Ibiza, Barcelona, Malaga and Tenerife saw the arrest of 32 suspected 'Ndrangheta members, linked to torture and murder in September 2022.
A statement from Europol said: "The investigation uncovered the existence in the Balearic Islands in Spain of an organised crime group linked to the ‘Ndrangheta syndicate. The criminal gang is believed to have played an active role in cocaine and cannabis trafficking in between Spain and Italy, using vehicles equipped with hidden compartments and speedboats to transport the drugs.
"The members of this criminal organisation would routinely use violence, including torture, to further their criminal goals. Some of the arrestees are linked to a number of murders in Italy. The investigation also uncovered the illegal possession of firearms by some members of this gang. The criminal profits were reinvested into real estate in Spain to hide their illegal origin, polluting the legal economy."
Italian gangsters find it easy to acclimatise to Southern Spain, Mafia expert Anna Sergi said (Getty Images)As well as drug trafficking, vast amounts of Mafia money are being laundered through apparently legitimate investments in Tenerife, according to Professor Sergi . She points out that member of the Nuvoletta clan was arrested in 2019 in connection with property speculation over the development of a new apartment block in Tenerife’s capital Santa Cruz.
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Local criminals are working hand-in-hand with Mafia groups, Professor Sergi says, with the locals “providing logistical support.
A Tenerife-based organised crime group with Mafia links, which was involved in online fraud, money laundering, drug trafficking, and property crime, is thought to have illegally netted more than €10 million in profit in 2020 alone, according to figures form Europol.
The money was laundered through "a wide network of money mules and shell companies,” the agency said.
Several mafia fugitives have sought refuge in the Canary Islands (ITALIAN CARABINIERI PRESS OFFICE)Southern Spain and its sun-kissed islands have become a the front line of international law enforcement’s battle against an increasingly globalised drugs trade.
Marcos Frías, chief of Spain's Central Organised Crime Brigade told the Guardian: “The Costa del Sol is a kind of hub, or ‘co-working’ space, where almost every major criminal group in the world has some sort of presence.”
He added: “It’s a UN of criminals for a globalised world. Marbella is a tourist brand, but it’s also a criminal brand. If a crime boss from Liverpool wants to traffic drugs on a large scale, he knows he has to make an appearance in Marbella. He doesn’t have a choice.”