14 suspects with strong cartel connections arrested in murder investigation in Spain

Spain arrests 14 people suspected of links to powerful Mexico Sinaloa cartel It was part of a kidnapping and murder investigation, police said Sunday.

The majority of the gang that was busted by Spanish investigators consisted of Mexican nationals. He was linked to the Sinaloa drug cartel, which is based in northwestern Mexico and has been rocked for weeks. gang fight.

“The dismantled criminal network based in Catalonia is believed to have been involved in the kidnapping and death of a man whose body was found in a forested area in the northeastern Spanish region in August,” police said. expression.

The victim, whose nationality was not specified, allegedly worked with the gang and “came from Italy for a meeting with a few chiefs.”

The victim’s family in Kosovo reported her disappearance to the police after she was abducted between late May and June.

The family received a ransom demand of 240,000 euros ($253,000) and a total of $32,000 was paid in cryptocurrency.

In the statement, it was stated that the 14 suspects detained were allegedly involved in drug trafficking, money laundering, kidnapping and murder crimes. The ages of the detainees, 11 men and 3 women, are between 30 and 70.

Police added that the Catalonia-based gang received shipments from Mexico containing clothing soaked in methamphetamine, which they then extracted at a Spanish laboratory.

14 arrests made just days after Spain arrested A senior police officer was arrested after 20 million euros were found hidden in the walls of his home as part of an investigation. the country’s largest-ever cocaine bust.

The Sinaloa cartel, named after the Mexican state where it was founded, is one of the largest criminal organizations in the world. Two of its founders are Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman and Ismail “El Mayo” Zambada He is imprisoned in the United States.

Zambada, 76, was arrested in the southern United States on July 25. Joaquin Guzman LopezOne of the sons of “El Chapo” who leads a faction of the cartel known as “Chapitos”. Master drug trafficker accused Lopez kidnap him and turning him over to U.S. law enforcement.

According to an indictment released last year by the U.S. Department of Justice, the “Chapitos” and their cartel partners used corkscrews, electrocutions and hot peppers. torture one’s opponents Some of his victims were “fed to tigers, dead or alive.” El Chapo’s sons Among 28 Sinaloa cartel members indicted In a major fentanyl trafficking investigation announced in April 2023.

“El Chapo” is serving a life sentence in a maximum security prison in Colorado convicted in 2019 On charges including drug trafficking, money laundering and weapons-related offences.

Increasing criminal violence, much of it linked to gang drug trafficking, has killed more than 450,000 people in Mexico since 2006.

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