Algeciras police arrest four members of ‘Messi del Hashish’ gang

Algeciras police arrest four members of ‘Messi del Hashish’ gang

As reported in a press release, National Police officers in the Cadiz province of Algeciras have arrested four people, and are investigating two others, as alleged perpetrators of a crime of money laundering.

The detainees reportedly acted as front men for an organisation that was led by a deputy of the drug trafficker known as ‘Messi del Hashish’. In total, the police believe the amount of money laundered could be in the region of €500,000.

They had been detected regularly dealing in large sums of money, but, when investigated, showing a disproportion between the official figure declared, and the real amount. Fictitious businesses and frontmen had been discovered to be in use.

In March of this year, the police had dismantled one of the most active criminal organisations dedicated to drug trafficking in the Campo de Gibraltar region. During this operation, the leader of the gang was arrested inside a luxury villa in the Malaga municipality of Estepona. A vehicle worth around €190,000 was also confiscated.

As a result of information obtained during this raid, asset inquiries were carried out on several of those involved, mainly focused on the person who allegedly led the organisation. Subsequently, another operation was initiated on December 2.

Investigators became suspicious after discovering the main suspect had no assets registered in his name. This criminal activity is of course a ‘modus operandi’ well known to the police. Eventually, it was found that the main suspect used four high.end vehicles, all owned by third-party front-men.

It was evident that the front-men listed did not have the financial means to acquire and maintain not only high-end vehicles, but also real estate, as well as face the various expenses involved. These included the €30,000 rental of premises, and abnormal use of cash in carrying out these operations, as reported by lavozdigital.es.

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