The Guardia Civil has arrested two German fugitives suspected of holding senior positions in an international drug-trafficking network that transported large quantities of narcotics from Spain to Germany.
The men, aged 33 and 35, are believed to be the group’s leader and one of its principal members. German authorities had been investigating the organisation since 2021, during which time dozens of major shipments of cocaine, amphetamines and cannabis were intercepted.
Germany’s Federal Criminal Police Office, the BKA, requested assistance from the Guardia Civil in 2025 after receiving information that the two suspects had fled to Spain.
The investigation in Spain was launched in June 2025 by the Organised Crime and Anti-Drug Team attached to the Guardia Civil’s Alicante Command.
According to investigators, the suspects escaped to Spain amid increasing pressure on the criminal network in Germany. Their frequent movements and attempts to avoid detection made it difficult for officers to establish their whereabouts and carry out the arrests.
Investigators eventually traced the suspected leader to Alicante and his alleged associate to Tenerife. The Alicante team then enlisted the assistance of the Guardia Civil’s organised crime specialists in Tenerife.
After several months of surveillance, the suspect based in Tenerife was arrested on January 28, 2026. The second man was later located at a property in Cartagena, Murcia, where he was detained on July 7.
Both suspects are German nationals and are wanted in connection with the alleged acquisition and export of substantial quantities of drugs from Spain to Germany.
They have appeared before Spain’s National Court and were remanded in custody while awaiting extradition to Germany.
