3,000 euros for taking cocaine out of El Prat airport

BarcelonaTwo investigations against drug trafficking have shown, once again, Barcelona's prominence as one of the entry points for cocaine into Europe, but also how drug traffickers attempt to infiltrate airport structures and bribe workers to assist them in transporting the drugs.

The first operation is by the National Police, who in November 2025 arrested three airport workers from El Prat for their alleged involvement in an organization that was bringing cocaine from Brazil. The three employees intended to introduce three suitcases carrying 162 kg of drugs, bypassing the usual controls that luggage must pass through. The dismantled gang operated from Sao Paulo - Guarulhos airport in Brazil, where recordings showed a person loading the suitcases with a tractor and trailer directly into the plane's cargo hold, also skipping all controls. A businessman from Baix Llobregat coordinated the gang's criminal activity. In total, five people have been arrested, four in Catalonia and one in Brazil.

The three employees worked in ground handling services, handling, and had more than ten years of seniority in their respective positions at the Catalan airport. The fact that some of them held positions of responsibility within the company facilitated the execution of the criminal activity and allowed them to extract the drugs without attracting the attention of colleagues or airport authorities. According to information obtained by ARA, this worker received 10,000 euros for each shipment, and the other two, 3,000 euros. Spanish police are aware that they had already carried out several operations before being caught in November.

How the extraction worked

One of the employees was the one who acted first: he separated the suitcases in question and removed them from the usual circuit of luggage transported in the aircraft holds. A second worker took the cocaine out of the airport, and the third member of the organization, who was off duty, handed it over to the branch of the gang operating in Spain. Following joint work between the Spanish and Brazilian police, an entrepreneur from Baix Llobregat was identified and arrested on April 15. According to the investigation, this would be the person who coordinated the workers at both airports, as well as the contacts at the origin to supply the cocaine that entered Spain.

During the search in Baix Llobregat, more than 39,000 euros in cash (almost 10,000 carried by the businessman), four simulated war weapons, a high-displacement vehicle, another suitcase of the same characteristics, 268 grams of MDMA, and an indoor marijuana plantation with 302 plants were seized. The five detainees are charged with crimes of belonging to a criminal organization, drug trafficking, and illegal possession of weapons.

The operation, which is under judicial secrecy, was christened Las Trillizas by the Brazilian authorities because the suitcases containing the drug were exactly the same, large, and from a recognized brand.

Cocaine at the Port

El Prat airport is one of the hot spots for drug trafficking in the city, but it is estimated that most of the drug continues to enter through the Port of Barcelona. In this regard, the Civil Guard, with Customs Surveillance of the Tax Agency, has dismantled an organization in Barcelona that imported cocaine by sea. The operation, named Padaguan, has resulted in thirteen arrests and two investigated for drug trafficking, criminal organization, and money laundering. The operation has been carried out in four phases, which has resulted in 1,254 kilos of drugs seized, 318,000 euros in cash intercepted, and 350,000 euros blocked in bank accounts. The investigation originates from an action carried out on October 7, 2024, when agents of the Civil Guard and officials of Customs Surveillance stopped a truck with a trailer that was attempting to extract a container from the Port of Barcelona.

During the inspection, officers observed the driver picking up a mobile phone and appearing to write a message, and they verified that the seals had been tampered with. Upon opening the container, they located several sacks and packages wrapped in transparent film. Inside the packages, three people were hidden. Tests on the substance tested positive for cocaine, with a total weight of 1,254 kilos, distributed in 1,096 packages. In this first intervention, four people were arrested: the truck driver and the three people found inside the container, for a crime against public health.

Subsequently, in May 2025, two more people were arrested and, in the third phase of the police operation, the targets were individuals linked to the Port of Barcelona, responsible for facilitating the extraction of the drug. A stevedore and another man were arrested, and two more people were investigated for money laundering. The last phase of the operation took place in January 2026, with the arrest of five individuals and the search of seven properties and premises in the province of Barcelona, where numerous luxury items were found – watches, handbags, and glasses –, electric weapons, ammunition for different firearms, storage devices, and five vehicles.

The dismantled organization introduced large amounts of cash in a fragmented manner to purchase high-value goods, such as luxury vehicles. Through businesses in the names of third parties, some linked to the restaurant sector, the gang moved this money, which exceeds 2.5 million euros. Additionally, they used loans between individuals, worth 500,000 euros, to simulate real estate transactions without actual money movement. Investigators have also confirmed the use of cryptoassets to hide profits obtained through drug trafficking.