Ibiza played a strategic role in an international drug trafficking network led by the Albanian mafia. the Albanian mafiaaccording to a joint investigation by the National Police and the Guardia Civil.
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Criminal organization that smuggled drugs into the Balearic Islands through Ibiza’s waters is busted
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Ibiza’s key role in Mallorca’s macro operation against money laundering and drug trafficking
The organization used the island as a collection point for cocaine and hashish dumped at sea by merchant ships from South America and Morocco, which were recovered by powerful vessels and stored in hidden infrastructures on the island. From there, the drugs were redirected to Mallorca, Valencia and other European destinations.
The drugs, dumped at sea in backpacks equipped with GPS beacons, were recovered by fast boats with three 300-horsepower engines. The operations were preferably carried out at night to avoid detection by security forces.
Each trip could carry up to 750 kilos of drugs, in submerged backpacks secured with nets and located by lights and coordinates previously agreed upon. According to police reports, this method was used on at least 43 occasions.
A hidden and sophisticated infrastructure in Ibiza
The criminal organization had an established network in Ibiza to hide and store the shipments, which consolidated the island as a key logistical center for drug trafficking in Europe.
The infrastructure made it possible to hide large volumes of drugs and facilitate their subsequent transfer to Mallorca and the Spanish mainland, mainly Valencia.
The security measures used by the group included the placement of locator beacons in police vehicles, which allowed them to anticipate operations and successfully complete, for example, the landing of almost two tons of hashish.
More than 25 million euros invoiced
Although the agents managed to seize 687 kilos of cocaine, 2,500 kilos of hashish and more than 1.5 million euros, data extracted from seized documents show that the network had moved much higher volumes: 2,107 kilos of cocaine and 5,647 kilos of hashish in Mallorca alone, with a turnover of more than 25 million euros.
This suggests that the drugs seized represent only a fraction of the total mobilized.
During the operation, which was dubbed Enroque Bal/Manso, security forces found a striking detail in some of the seized merchandise: several packages of cocaine were labeled with a photograph of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
This type of marking, common in international drug trafficking networks, is used to identify the source or group responsible for the shipment.
From Ibiza to Europe: a network with international connections
From the collection points at sea to storage in Ibiza and subsequent distribution to Mallorca and Valencia, the drugs ended up in the hands of clans in neighborhoods such as Son Banya, La Soledat or Corea, and continued on their way to Italy, Germany or France.
Operation Enroque Bal/Manso has uncovered an unprecedented criminal structure, with links to Eastern European kingpins, and with ramifications in hotels, front companies and police forces.
The ringleader, Stefan Milojevic, and his main collaborators, including a Majorcan lawyer and a National Police inspector, are currently in custody.
The Balkan mafia controlled the route
The dismantled network was led by Stefan Milojevic, linked to the United Tribuns motorcycle gang and considered the “enforcement arm” of the Albanian mafia in Spain.
Thanks to his contacts with clans in Montenegro and Eastern European drug lords, he managed to establish a direct drug route from Morocco to Ibiza, without going through intermediaries on the mainland.
“This is the Champions League,” Milojevic said, according to a conversation recorded by the Guardia Civil, alluding to the magnitude of his operations.
The investigation reports, whose secrecy was recently lifted, describe the network as one of the most powerful ever detected in Spain. The structure operated as a criminal logistics company, with deliveries, accounting, transport equipment and money laundering.
Lawyers, police, local drug traffickers and even tourist accommodation managers collaborated in the scheme. The purchase of three hotels in Mallorca, Pamplona and Almansa was key to channeling drug trafficking profits.
Police inspector among those arrested
Among the more than 100 arrested, there are high-level profiles inside and outside the system. The case of Faustino Nogales, inspector of the National Police, stands out, accused of leaking confidential information to the organization and of alerting them of the final operation, which forced the arrests to be brought forward.
Also imprisoned with him were lawyer Gonzalo Márquez, considered the financial mastermind of the plot, and Milojevic himself. All have been in custody since August.
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