Since the investigation began in June 2024 before the National Court and led to the arrest of the former head of the UDEF Óscar Sánchez and the entire criminal network specialized in the introduction of enormous quantities of cocaine into Spain, the … The work of Judge Francisco de Jorge, the drug prosecution and the police internal affairs unit has not stopped. But time is running out, The cause is “complex” and already includes a “multitude” of distinct parts. This led the magistrate to decide to give himself another six months, until June 2026, to see if he can conclude the investigation within this time frame.
But the task is titanic, judging by the judge’s latest order, dated December 11, to which ABC had access, and which includes, in summary, Anti-Drug’s examination of everything that remains to be done. And from this list it appears that you should try “secure and block” more than 20 million euros from the “Anodino” plot (that’s what his colleagues in the force called him) would be hiding in Ireland. To find this money, several letters rogatory have been launched towards this country, but without much success so far and, for this reason, assistance will now be requested from the Irish authorities to also obtain information from another company: ET Fintech Europe Limited. The prosecution believes that it was one of the companies of the organization to which large sums of money were embezzled.
Then, in his report, the prosecutor recalls that the procedure is investigating not only the cocaine conspiracy, which Ignacio Torán would direct, but also the complex commercial structure that would have allowed the introduction of the narcotic into Spain, hiding the profits obtained from this conduct and, subsequently, reintroducing the money into economic trafficking.
Extradition from the United Arab Emirates
In fact, this money laundering “encompasses an essential part of the criminal activity of the organization”, which used for this purpose “an important international corporate structure” and which, according to Antidroga, used “one of the means that ensure greater anonymity in the movement of assets”, invest in cryptocurrencies“.
Thus, investigators consider that they must continue their investigations to create a complete map of how the conspiracy laundered the profits, and to do this, they must continue the study and analysis of the documentation, effects and devices seized during the entries and searches.
In this list of procedures to be carried out there are several important ones, such as the estimation of the extradition request and the execution of the surrender of the accused persons. Juan Ángel Cervera and Alejandro Salgado in the United Arab Emirates, which could result in a declaration from that country to both. In this context, Antidrug also reminds the judge that a report has not yet been received from the unit responsible for investigating drug trafficking, UDYCO Central, which sheds light on the identification of the individuals who hid under the nickname “Chinchón” and that would tie into the plot.
On the other hand, the Prosecutor’s Office warns that the reports on the deposits of the devices seized from the two defendants who play a leading role in this case, Ignacio Torán and Óscar Sánchez, have not yet been made. Remember that the former leader of the UDEF remains in prison without bail since his arrest. They are also expected wealth reports more definitive regarding multiple investigations.
With this panorama, and once the extension has been granted, the magistrate has already set his duties for the start of the year. On January 9, a statement will be taken from one of the people under investigation, Almudena Sánchez, who, according to information from Internal Affairs, was known as Torán’s secretary and appears linked to the companies under investigation.
About The Author
