Spanish authorities have dismantled a sophisticated drug trafficking network that used fake police uniforms and forged IDs to smuggle cocaine through Madrid’s Barajas Airport. The gang, linked to operations in Lanzarote, was brought down in a joint operation by the Guardia Civil and National Police.
Dubbed Operation Ghost Air, the investigation has led to the arrest of ten people and the seizure of 190kg of cocaine concealed in suitcases arriving from Latin America.
The gang’s elaborate scheme involved members purchasing low-cost domestic flight tickets to enter the secure area of the airport. Once inside, they were escorted by accomplices dressed as police officers, allowing them to collect drug-laden luggage from international flights without raising alarms.
The operation was launched in April 2024 after a man was caught with 52kg of cocaine in two suitcases that had arrived from the Dominican Republic. The suspect, who hadn’t actually been on the flight, used a boarding pass for a domestic route to access the baggage area, raising immediate suspicion.
Police say this was a repeat tactic used across at least seven known drug shipments, leading to the arrests of five couriers who had collected similar bags.
Investigators also uncovered a money laundering element tied to Lanzarote, where young women were allegedly flown in to deliver drug money. The cash was then transferred to non-EU banks by a local accomplice, in what authorities believe was part of a broader laundering operation.
In total, five senior gang members, four men and one woman, were arrested last November and charged with drug trafficking, money laundering, and membership in a criminal organisation.
Raids on properties in Torrejón de Ardoz, San Sebastián de los Reyes, and Lanzarote uncovered €150,000 in cash, a fake handgun, a crypto wallet, mobile phones, forged documents, and a badge and vest used by one suspect to impersonate a police officer.
The investigation remains open, with authorities continuing to probe the gang’s international links and financial networks.
