The Guardia Civil, in collaboration with the Mossos d’Esquadra and the German Police, has arrested six members of an organized crime group specializing in kidnappings, extortions, robberies, harassment, threats, and murders.
They are linked to a murder and one attempted murder in Ciempozuelos in August 2022 and another attempted murder in Cornellà de Llobregat in May 2023. The arrests took place in Hospitalet de Llobregat (Barcelona), Fuenlabrada, Tres Cantos (Madrid), and Germany.
The operation began following a shooting incident in 2022 in which two individuals were attacked in a parking lot in Ciempozuelos (Madrid). When Guardia Civil officers arrived, they found one individual with gunshot wounds to the abdomen and arm, who later died from his injuries. His companion was also wounded but survived.
Early investigations focused on the two victims. Through cooperation with Peruvian authorities, it was revealed that the deceased victim was the leader of a criminal organization in Peru known as “los malditos de Bayóvar” and was involved in several homicides.
He had fled to Spain to escape prosecution. Furthermore, the victim who survived the attack in Ciempozuelos was later killed in Buenos Aires (Argentina) in September 2023.
The Guardia Civil obtained surveillance footage showing the victims being monitored. Based on this and other evidence, they directed their investigation towards the arrested individuals.
After the murder in Ciempozuelos, the suspected shooter and his collaborators went into hiding. Investigators suspected they had fled the Madrid area, possibly hiding elsewhere in Spain or abroad.
Attempted Murder in Cornellà Nearly two years after the Ciempozuelos incident, on May 17, 2024, another shooting took place in a barbershop in Cornellà de Llobregat. An armed individual entered the shop and shot a worker. The shooter fled on a scooter, while the victim, initially going home, later sought medical attention. The 43-year-old victim, who had a long criminal record, was wounded in the shoulder.
Through the investigation, the Mossos d’Esquadra’s Criminal Investigation Division (DIC) gathered enough evidence to show that the shooting was commissioned and involved the victim being a witness to a previous homicide of a person serving time in prison. The shooter and two accomplices had conducted surveillance of the location and the victim’s home prior to the attack.
Through coordination with the Center for Intelligence on Terrorism and Organized Crime (CITCO), it was discovered that the suspect in the Cornellà shooting was also the main individual involved in the Ciempozuelos murder investigation. As a result, a joint operation was initiated.
The Guardia Civil and the Mossos d’Esquadra carried out parallel investigations to locate the shooter and his collaborators. The joint operation, led by the Guardia Civil’s Judicial Police Unit in Madrid and the DIC in the Southern Metropolitan Police Region of the Mossos d’Esquadra, led to the arrest of the primary suspect on January 21.
The Guardia Civil also arrested two additional individuals involved—one in Fuenlabrada as an accomplice in the Ciempozuelos murder and another in Tres Cantos as an accessory. Meanwhile, the Mossos d’Esquadra arrested two more collaborators in Hospitalet de Llobregat who were involved in the attempted murder in Cornellà de Llobregat.
Through international police cooperation, authorities in Germany, France, Austria, and Italy provided vital information, which led to the identification and arrest of another participant in the Ciempozuelos murder—the motorcyclist who had assisted with the escape. He was arrested in Germany on February 21, 2025, following a European arrest warrant.
