A drug lord responsible for sending cocaine to criminal organizations in Europe was arrested in Colombia during a joint operation with Spanish police, the latter said on Saturday.
He is
“alleged to be directly responsible for the operations of the (Medellin) cartel in Europe and the contact of this cartel with the criminal organizations 'Ndrangheta and Mocro Maffia
,” Spanish police said in a statement.
The 'Ndrangheta is the Calabrian mafia and Mocro Maffia a group so named because of the Moroccan origin of many of its members, which controls part of the cocaine trade with Europe through the ports of Antwerp and Rotterdam .
Arrested at his home,
“a luxury villa in the Antioquia region”
, where Medellin is located, he was under arrest warrant in Spain for drug trafficking.
“Swedish Pablo Escobar”
The Spanish police did not give further details, but according to the Colombian press it is Julio Andrés Murillo Figueroa, alias H-1 or El Zar (
"the Tsar"
), considered to be Jonas' main supplier of cocaine Sture Falk, known as the
“Swedish Pablo Escobar”
, and the arrest took place on Thursday.
Spain is one of the main entry routes for cocaine into Europe due to its close links with South America where it is produced.
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Spanish authorities seized 8 tonnes of this drug coming from Suriname last February, and 9.5 tonnes in a container arriving from Ecuador in August 2023.