A suspected member of the Colombian Cali Drug Cartel who is accused of cryptocurrency money laundering has been detained by the national police of Spain. The man has not been clearly identified by the authorities of Spain however they claim that he belongs to the Colombian Cali Cartel which is well known for cocaine trafficking all across the whole world.
It was a joint operation with the Dutch law enforcement agency who helped the agents of the Spanish authorities in apprehending this suspected man. Netherland’s law enforcement and Spanish authorities worked together over this mission and collected all of the key information that was required for arresting this man. Reportedly, the man was detained in Málaga, a Municipality in Spain.
The suspected criminal was said to be using digital assets for money laundering. He turned into a cryptocurrency money launderer from a “direct intermediary”. For his illegal operations, he set up a digital currency trading company as a front. This prominent drug trafficker is said to have used cryptocurrencies in laundering more than 6 million euros. As a statement from the police’s official post states:
“To this end, the detainee made use of cryptocurrencies and had come to create a company dedicated to trading them. The Dutch authorities calculated that it could have moved more than 6,000,000 euros through this type of currency and would not have declared these movements to the Dutch tax authorities, as there are indications of the illicit origin of this money.”
Moreover, when the Spanish Police raided his house at the weekend, it confiscated a major portion of laundered cryptocurrency funds. Reportedly, Agents of Spanish authorities seized an amount of $170,000 worth of funds in digital assets as well as documents, computers, and various digital currency wallets. Other than this, the authorities confiscated his bank account, three luxury watches, three cars, many cell phones and laptops, 15 credit cards, and an amount of 85,000 in euros. The suspect criminal collected all of these items through his illegal operations.