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Spanish police crack suspected FARC money laundering ring
Forty one people have been arrested in Spain on suspicion of laundering illegal drugs trade money and wiring some of it to members of the Colombian rebel group FARC.
Published: 2:03PM BST 02 Oct 2010
More than 250 agents, some with sniffer dogs specialised in banknote detection, were involved in the arrests Photo: AFP/GETTY IMAGES
Police said they were alerted when unusually large money transfers were detected going from Spain to Colombia and Ecuador. The arrests were the result of "Operación Espejo" (Operation Mirror), headed by judge Pablo Ruz and a team of Spanish, Colombian and Ecuadorean police. Spanish police said that the uprising among forces in Ecuador had complicated the final stages of the investigation, but that their inquiries were continuing.
Spain's Interior Ministry said that since investigations began in August 2008, some €200 million (£174 million) has been transferred, with 12 FARC members among the beneficiaries. More than 250 agents, some with sniffer dogs specialised in banknote detection, were involved in the arrests that took place in 13 Spanish cities including Madrid, Barcelona and Zaragoza.
Some 27 addresses were raided and more than €150,000 (£130,000) in cash and 550 pounds of cocaine were seized. Spanish press reported that the arrests were an offshoot of "Operation Cali" against Colombian criminals, which resulted in the July 2008 detention of María Remedios García Albert, the alleged head of FARC in Spain.
