The Dutch MDMA multinational falls into Amposta

BarcelonaBags and bags of crystal meth were guarded by a dozen police officers, rifles in hand. The National Police force was heavily deployed, and around twenty officers from the Verneda police station in Barcelona watched curiously from a distance. 582 kilograms and 722 liters of MDMA oil were seized, the largest operation against a synthesis laboratory for this drug in Spain and one of the largest in Europe. In this case, the material—which would have had a final value of 31 million euros—was seized in a warehouse in an industrial estate in Amposta (Montsià), and five arrests were made. Four of those arrested, all Dutch nationals, were sent to prison.

The operation began in 2023, led by the Dutch police. In May, the leader was arrested, who had very close ties to both Dutch and Colombian drug production and distribution networks. He is a Dutch citizen, "quite young" according to police sources, who was a high-value target for Europol. He had settled in Cambrils, as if he were just another businessman and without living "ostentatiously," but he was constantly coming and going from his country, where he is an "important figure" in the world of organized crime. After learning that a woman would come to Spain, he contacted the two. cooks (those responsible for manufacturing the final product), the National Police accelerated their actions and on June 25 arrested four more people.

In the Amposta warehouse, which had tight security measures and was located in an area of unoccupied warehouses that allowed drug traffickers to operate more freely, six industrial reactors were found, each with a capacity of over 1,000 liters, distillers, 31,000 liters of pressurizer, and precursor. 28,600 euros. The laboratory cost one million euros and could produce 100 kilograms per week. The vast majority of the material they produced was destined for the European market. In fact, the police operation was carried out after the group members purchased some comfortable, false-bottomed vehicles to transport the drugs in a van.

The members of the network, who maintained no contact with anyone in the area, changed addresses to lessen suspicion. Spanish police conducted three raids, all in Cambrils and Amposta, and are continuing to investigate whether more people were involved in both the production and distribution of the material. cooks They worked as if it were a factory shift, from early morning until two in the afternoon, so as not to arouse suspicion. They also had a person in charge of security and monitoring the area through a video camera system. The woman, who handled the group's logistics, has since been released.

Inspector Alejandro Martín explained that "a worrying trend" of synthetic drug laboratories being installed on the Iberian Peninsula is being detected. Six have already been dismantled in 2025, while in 2024 there were eleven (one of them in Catalonia). The Netherlands is the main producer of synthetic drugs, and due to police pressure and the size of the country, laboratories are being observed moving to other parts of Europe.

Therefore, the Spanish government delegate in Catalonia, Carlos Prieto, has sent a message to the mafias: "Catalonia is not a safe base, nor will it ever be, for organized crime. They always end up getting caught." He also emphasized that during 2024, 47 criminal groups were dismantled in Catalonia, and a higher number is expected in 2025. "They operate like large multinationals, like Apple," Prieto compared.

One of the consequences of installing these types of laboratories in the country is environmental pollution, Martín pointed out. The precursors alone contained more than 33 tons of material, and all of this ends up in the surrounding waters, causing significant damage.