Spanish authorities have exposed a sophisticated money-laundering operation in Valencia, where a criminal network allegedly funneled profits from large-scale cocaine trafficking through property deals and transport firms. Investigators also examined gyms and cryptocurrency platforms. The investigation, led by Judge Vicente Ríos of Valencia’s Court of Instruction No. 15, centers on a group accused of storing 4.5 tonnes of cocaine, worth an estimated €60 million, at the city’s port.
Information from court documents reviewed by EL PAÍS, the network relied on companies and family members to disguise the origins of illicit funds. Suspects arrested in July 2025 during the dismantling of the so-called Spider organization are believed to have used shell companies and luxury property purchases, while staging divorces to shield assets from law enforcement. Eleven of the 81 people detained are under scrutiny in a separate, confidential money-laundering investigation.
The operation formed part of a wider police effort against drug-trafficking groups in Valencia province. Ángel Gajero, the Policía Nacional’s chief in the Valencian Community, said that “more than 400 people” had been arrested in connection with roughly 30 criminal organizations, including the group dismantled through Operación Spider, as reported by El Periódico Mediterráneo.
Investigators have identified seven companies linked to the suspects, including a Valencia-based real-estate and asset-management firm with €610,000 in capital, where alleged ringleader Ivan T. is a partner and his wife serves as administrator. The alleged scheme also involves a Beniparrell transport company with €1.2 million in 2024 sales. A construction firm in Alboraya is tied to a relative of another suspect. Investigators also identified a Valencia gym and nutrition clinic where a person under investigation holds a 30% stake but is absent from the business’s bank accounts.
Authorities believe the group used relatives and intermediaries to move funds discreetly and have requested detailed information from Spain’s Social Security system and Tax Agency. The court has ordered a review of the suspects’ assets, including bank accounts and shares. The review also covers deposits, insurance policies and safe-deposit boxes, as part of the money-laundering branch of the ongoing Spider case.
One basic figure, identified as Miguel M., allegedly acted as a real-estate intermediary, creating inactive companies to register properties and serving as a trusted facilitator for the basic suspects. He is also linked to a Valencia cryptocurrency trading company with 33 employees and more than €35 million in sales in 2022. The alleged transfer of properties through this corporate network highlights how property and digital-asset businesses can feature in investigations into suspected criminal proceeds.
The investigation has identified a range of alleged tactics used to protect criminal wealth. In one case, suspect Ramón B. is accused of arranging a sham divorce and transferring assets to his wife to avoid seizure. Despite the legal separation, evidence reportedly showed that the couple continued to share hotel rooms. Monthly child-support transfers also drew investigators’ attention, as did a €622,000 payment for a luxury apartment.
The money-laundering probe adds another layer to the Spider case, which exposed a major drug-trafficking network. The July 2025 operation led to 81 arrests, including port workers and truck drivers. A Guardia Civil officer was also among those arrested. Over three years, the organization allegedly supplied the market through the port of Valencia, described in the case account as Europe’s third-largest entry point for cocaine after Antwerp and Rotterdam, with prices reaching €14,000 per kilo.
A separate Valencia investigation offers another example of the judicial measures used in cases involving suspected organized crime and laundering. In a case reported by ABC, which began in 2024 and is not connected to Operación Spider, a judge ordered provisional detention for three men investigated over an alleged hierarchical organization involved mainly in firearms and ammunition trafficking. Reported seizures included more than 1,700 cartridges and 200 grams of cocaine. Authorities also seized luxury watches. The Tribunal Superior de Justicia de la Comunitat Valenciana cited risks of flight and destruction of evidence in explaining the detention decision. It also cited the risk of repeat offending. The proceedings remain under investigation; provisional detention is a precautionary measure, not a conviction.
Spain’s efforts to counter organized crime at its ports have prompted tighter controls and oversight. Laundering investigations can involve relatives and front men, as well as legitimate businesses, requiring authorities to trace assets across companies and financial accounts. Similar efforts to disrupt criminal networks have been reported in other regions, such as the recent dismantling of a group trafficking minors from the Canary Islands, as detailed in this related report.
Spain’s strategic location and extensive port infrastructure make it a basic transit point for international drug shipments. Investigators examine the use of real estate and transport businesses to conceal suspected criminal proceeds, along with digital-asset platforms. In the Spider case, authorities are pursuing both the alleged trafficking network and the movement of its proceeds through businesses and personal assets.
