By AML Intelligence Correspondents
THE HEAD of Spain’s national police fincrime unit was arrested this week after €20 million in drugs cash was found in his home.
Chief Inspector Óscar Sánchez Gil, head of the economic crimes department (UDEF), and his wife – also a police officer – have been remanded in custody. Investigators said Sánchez had the drug proceeds hidden in the walls of his house and in his office.
IN CUSTODY: Sanchez (above) became head of the economic crimes department (UDEF) at the Superior Police Headquarters in Madrid after a period in the drugs and organized crime unit. It’s believed the chief inspector first came under suspicion a year ago and he was subsequently put under surveillance by the Internal Affairs division.
The pair are charged with drug trafficking, bribery, money laundering, criminal organization and dereliction of duty to prosecute crimes.
The arrests raise further alarm bells about the corrosive effects of industrial quantities of dirty money swirling around in Europe as the continent becomes the biggest global consumer of cocaine.
A major part of Sánchez’s role was the prevention of money laundering and his department reviews Suspicious Transaction Reports (STRs) from Spain’s banks and fintechs. Moreover, he would also be in receipt of sensitive intelligence nationally and internationally from Europol and Interpol.
“This is corruption on the greatest scale I have come across. It is a complete betrayal of his colleagues for financial gain. It has undermined confidence in the police on one hand; on the other hand it shows that officers will not stand for corruption in their ranks and will weed out bad apples wherever they are,” a source at Interpol told AML Intelligence.
“The Spanish National Police will now investigate how much sensitive information he gave to the drugs traffickers and try to discover if he had any other accomplices within the police or in any other agencies,” the source added.
Sánchez became head of the economic crimes department at the Superior Police Headquarters in Madrid after a period in the drugs and organized crime unit. It’s believed the chief inspector first came under suspicion about a year ago and he was subsequently put under surveillance by the Internal Affairs division.
The arrests have come as a deep shock to the national police force as Sanchez was well regarded by superiors and adored by his officers, ABC newspaper reported. “It is true that he was a reserved person who spoke little, but nobody could have imagined anything like this,” the paper said.
The corruption and money laundering investigation is also being linked to the largest cocaine haul seized in Spain. The 13 tonnes seizure (pictured, below) took place earlier this week in the southern port city of Algeciras.
The probe into Sanchez accelerated quickly this week following on the seizure as officers searched five homes and offices in Madrid and Alicante. Some 100 vehicles were seized, including Lamborghinis, local media said.
The chief inspector and his wife were among the 15 people arrested and remanded in custody, El Pais newspaper reported.
The others arrested are mainly suspected drug traffickers and money launderers. The case continues and further arrests are not being ruled out.
Prosecutors believe the €20m was the couple’s cut from one or more successful drug trafficking ventures.
The investigation is a further wake up call for EU governments coping with the growing threat from organized crime to business, politics and public institutions.
Already in the Benelux countries officials have warned how public officials are being bribed to turn a blind eye or provide information in return for huge amounts of cash.
Massive quantities of cocaine are being trafficked thru the ports of Antwerp and Rotterdam, with Belgium’s head of customs revealing his officers were being targeted by traffickers who would follow them to service stations where the public officers were offered €10,000 cash bribes.
Belgium’s incinerators are working overtime to destroy the vast amounts of seized cocaine, with ring of steel security to prevent the gangs taking the drugs back.
Commenting on this week’s arrest of the senior officer in Spain, leading Dutch prosecutor Janneke de Smet-Dierck said: “These types of incidents not only put pressure on the integrity of individuals, but also on trust in international cooperation against financial crime.
“If we want to fight money laundering effectively, we need strong and transparent partnerships between countries. This news raises concerns about the risk of corruption within vital positions in our field. It also raises questions about how we can strengthen international cooperation and ensure that we not only combat the symptoms, but also tackle the root of the problem.”
The raids by Internal Affairs took place at the couple’s house in Alcalá de Henares in Madrid. As well as the €20m found in the home’s walls, some media are reporting that officers also found about another million in €50 notes in his police office.
Sanchez’s wife is stationed at the police station of the National Police at Alcalá de Henare. Both have appeared before the central court of the National Court.
Prior to taking charge of the fincrime unit, Sánchez was attached to the Narcotics section of the Central Brigade of the National Police of the Drug and Organised Crime Unit.
“Although he was a reserved person and who spoke very little, he had a great career in the police and was the one who led the Titella operation [into Spanish film producerJosé Luis Moreno],” local media reported.
The investigation began several months ago after suspicions that the police chief was giving information to drug traffickers. Internal Affairs then took charge of the investigation and put a tap on his phone.
Then on November 6, agents of the National Police and officials of the Customs Surveillance Service of the Tax Agency intercepted a container in the port of Algeciras that transported a total of 13,062 kilos of cocaine. It was the largest ever cache of the drug in Spain – and the second largest ever in Europe.
The container load of cocaine had a screen made up of boxes really loaded with bananas to hide the drug. Behind this screen was a large number of boxes, identical to the previous ones, but inside which cocaine bricks were hidden.
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