Spain Dismantles Two-Way Mediterranean Smuggling Ring That Monetized Both Legs of Each Journey

Spanish police, backed by Europol, arrested 78 people in a network that ran outbound drugs and firearms from Spain to Algeria, then returned with migrants charged up to €12,000 each — over 50 per trip, in unlit, overcrowded boats. Europol estimates migrant smuggling profits alone exceeded €24 million. Spain's Interior Ministry called it one of the Mediterranean's largest such structures.