With its sun-drenched seashores and vibrant nightlife, Spain has lengthy been a prime vacation spot — not only for vacationers, but in addition for criminals seeking to vanish.
From drug traffickers to intercourse offenders and cybercriminals, fugitives from across the globe flock to Spain’s coastal havens.
That gamble hardly ever pays off: police stress that their possibilities of evading justice are slim.
“We’re arresting new folks each day,” stated Fernando González, the top of an elite Spanish police unit arrange in 2004 to search out criminals on the run.
“Spain stays a really engaging place for traffickers,” he added.
Final 12 months, his unit arrested 460 fugitives — principally foreigners — throughout Spain, up from 390 in 2023.
The tempo has not slowed this 12 months. Latest high-profile arrests underscore the European nation’s ongoing enchantment to fugitives.
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In October 2024, police in Barcelona arrested Serbian nationwide Nikola Vusovic, a suspected chief of a significant crime gang from Montenegro, the Kavac clan.
Initially of this 12 months, officers arrested the chief of a brutal Peruvian mafia group, Omar Luis Castaneda, close to the Mediterranean metropolis of Alicante over his suspected involvement in 16 murders within the Latin American nation.
And in February, police in southern Spain arrested one of many gunmen who in 2024 ambushed a jail van in France to free a drug lord, Mohamed Amra, killing two jail guards. The fugitive was residing in a luxurious villa on the time.
“We take care of a variety of profiles,” from main criminals to petty offenders, in addition to a variety of nationalities, González stated as he scanned the most recent listing of arrests, which included Moroccans, French nationals and a rising variety of Latin Individuals.
‘Mix in’
Spain’s position as a haven for these attempting to evade justice is “historic”, a French investigator instructed AFP on situation of anonymity.
“It is not only a hideout for fugitives… it is also dwelling to profession criminals who function between Morocco, Spain and France.”
Spain is dwelling to a lot of foreigners and is the world’s second-most-visited nation, having welcomed a report 94 million international vacationers final 12 months, which makes it simpler for fugitives to go unnoticed.
“It is a spot with a top quality of life. It is easy to hire quiet villas with swimming swimming pools. Folks mix in,” the French investigator stated.
Criminals benefit from the glitz and glamour of cities like Marbella, discovering it simple to mix in. (Photograph by JORGE GUERRERO / AFP)
Felony defence lawyer and former extradition choose Carlos Bautista stated Spain’s location “on the crossroads” of Europe, the Americas and Africa makes it a pure hiding spot for runaway criminals.
González stated fugitives can typically simply discover “contacts who will help” them among the many massive group of foreigners who dwell in Spain.
He cited for example the case of a German girl who was arrested within the Balearic Islands the place she had lived for years with out talking Spanish.
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‘Cat-and-mouse recreation’
Most fugitives are discovered alongside Spain’s Mediterranean coast the place international communities are concentrated.
Málaga and Marbella on the Costa del Sol, which has lengthy been a preferred vacation spot for British residents and vacationers, are prime picks for criminals on the run, stated Bautista.
Laying low on the coast doesn’t assure security — these are areas with a few of the highest arrest charges.
“It is a cat-and-mouse recreation. However we normally discover them. It simply takes endurance,” stated González.
Police credit score wiretaps, monitoring social media and, above all, shut worldwide cooperation for his or her success.
By means of ENFAST, a community of law enforcement officials from throughout Europe who work collectively to find internationally needed criminals, Spain has turn into a pacesetter in cross-border arrests.
“Spain is extraordinarily lively in extraditions. In the end, fugitives get caught,” stated Bautista.
The partitions of González’s elite police unit are lined with mugshots and mementos from years of operations.
“There could also be fugitives residing quietly amongst us. However that does not imply they’ll escape endlessly,” he stated.
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