Police in Spain and France have dismantled a speedboat-based migrant smuggling network operating across the western Mediterranean, arresting 24 people in raids.
The operation took place on 22 and 23 March 2026 in a Spanish-led investigation involving France, with support from Europol, the EU police body informed on Tuesday.
The suspects were accused of organising dangerous sea crossings and providing logistics to other smuggling groups in the region.
Those under investigation included Algerian, Moroccan and Spanish nationals.
The group maintained a strong presence in Almería in southern Spain and had connections to other criminal cells in Marseille and Perpignan in France, as well as La Jonquera in Spain.
Investigators said the network used speedboats and leisure boats to move migrants from Algeria to Spain’s coasts — including Almería, Murcia and the Balearic Islands — before transferring people onwards by land to France and other western European countries. High-powered engines were often supplied by members based in France.
During the operation, police arrested 24 Spanish and Moroccan nationals, including one suspected key facilitator classed as a “High Value Target.” Officers also carried out 14 house searches in Spain.
Mobile boat workshops used to keep vessels running
Among the items seized were “phantom-type” speedboats, semi-rigid inflatable boats and other recreational vessels, along with high-end vehicles, a lorry and boat trailers, Europol said.
Police also confiscated 1,100kg of hookah tobacco, 1,175 litres of fuel, six satellite phones, marine GPS devices, a signal jammer, airguns and shotguns, and more than €80,000 in cash.
The network used trailers converted into mobile mechanical workshops to repair and maintain boats, allowing it to deal with mechanical problems without relying on external services.
Investigators also identified the group as a supplier of high-powered engines to other criminal organisations in the area and as offering countersurveillance services to help evade law enforcement.
The investigation was carried out under a newly established operational taskforce between Spain and France focused on migrant smuggling networks in the western Mediterranean.
An expert was deployed to Spain during the action days to cross-check operational data against Europol databases and support real-time information sharing.
