Spanish police in Malaga have arrested a man German authorities regard as the likely leader of an international criminal organisation and had been hunting for about five years. The operation was carried out jointly by Spain’s National Police and Germany’s Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA).
Investigators say the suspect ran a network that moved large shipments of drugs from Spain through France into Germany. A European arrest warrant had been issued against him on suspicion of drug trafficking and membership of a criminal organisation.
The inquiry intensified in 2025 after information emerged that the fugitive might be in Spain. His group had previously used a warehouse on Spanish soil to load drugs onto lorries. Police placed the suspect’s brother under surveillance and, after several days of tracking, detained both men on 24 August in Malaga. The wanted man was in the front passenger seat of his relative’s car. The arrest took place without incident.
According to the Spanish police, the detainee took extensive security precautions: he changed his phone number roughly every two weeks and his identity every three months. He had also taken cybersecurity training in Turkey to conceal his digital traces. In addition, he practised boxing and mixed martial arts.
After the arrest he was placed at the disposal of Spain’s National Court, which ordered him held in pre-trial detention. Any decision on extradition to Germany will be taken by the courts. The suspects’ names have not been officially released.