Blow to the Turkish mafia: Police target gang trafficking drugs and weapons

BarcelonaThe Catalan police (Mossos d'Esquadra) and the National Police launched an operation Monday morning against a drug trafficking ring based in Catalonia. Following an investigation coordinated by Europol, the police are seeking to dismantle a Turkish gang involved in trafficking marijuana and cocaine, but which also trafficked in weapons, according to sources consulted by ARA. The police have made 19 arrests, 14 of them in Catalonia. The investigation began a year ago, and the operation is now in full swing. Arrests have been made in Barcelona, ​​Teià, Sabadell, Tordera, and Lloret de Mar. In addition, two people have been arrested in Málaga, and six others are under investigation in Greece. Specifically, the accused are allegedly responsible for receiving the drugs in Catalonia—they did not produce them—and distributing them to other parts of Europe, where they fetch much higher prices. One of the police raids was at a bar in Poble Sec. In total, more than 200 officers are involved.

Turkish organized crime is currently a growing problem in Catalonia"The situation is tense," admit sources within the Mossos d'Esquadra's Criminal Investigation Division (DIC) regarding the presence of the Turkish mafia in the country. Just as Albanian gangs have done in recent years, the presence of Turkish organized crime is becoming increasingly noticeable. In fact, this effect is already reflected in Catalan prisons: in 2023, there was an average of three people of Turkish origin incarcerated; in 2024, this average dropped to one; and in 2025, it reached more than seven. Currently, eight people of that nationality are incarcerated. The vast majority are imprisoned for drug trafficking offenses, and all are men.

An emerging drug hub

In recent years, Turkey has become an attractive country for international mafias, but also for local groups. Due to its geographical location, straddling Asia and Europe, it has always played a prominent role in the transit of heroin produced in Afghanistan and destined for the Old Continent via the so-called Balkan corridor. But, in addition, according to the Brussels Institute for Diplomacy and Economy, Turkey "has become ahub"Emerging from cocaine trafficking." Especially since Recep Tayyip Erdogan came to power. "Since 2013, and particularly since the attempted coup in 2016, the Turkish government has weakened the rule of law by replacing key legal and police officials with loyalists. The new citizenship policies implemented in 2018 have attracted wealthy criminals, facilitated money laundering, and turned Turkey into a safe haven for crime bosses," says a report by InstituDE, with which Spanish police forces work.