Four fugitives wanted in Italy have been arrested in Spain after a joint investigation coordinated by Eurojust, the EU agency that supports judicial cooperation between member states.
A suspect first sought by Italian authorities in May 2021 was arrested on charges of causing aggravated bodily harm and carrying a firearm in a public place, but evaded a pre-trial detention order issued by a judge at the Court of Naples, Eurojust informed on Thursday.
A Europe-wide arrest warrant was then issued and the suspect’s whereabouts remained unknown, it added.
In Spain, police investigating forged documents and identification papers uncovered an organised crime group whose members repeatedly used false documents to commit crimes and evade justice.
Once investigators established that some suspects were Italian nationals, Italian authorities were alerted and found they were the subject of outstanding arrest warrants.
Arrests in Tenerife and Barcelona
Spanish police arrested four people on 7 May 2026 — three in Santa Cruz de Tenerife and one in Barcelona — who were allegedly linked to transnational organised crime groups of Italian origin, Eurojust said.
The investigation involved European Arrest Warrants, a mechanism used to request the surrender of suspects between EU countries, and a European Investigation Order, which allows evidence-gathering measures across borders.
Searches of suspects and their homes led to the seizure of firearms and ammunition, narcotics including ecstasy, MDMA, hashish oil, cocaine and marijuana, cash, false documents, Italian licence plates, and electronic devices such as phones and computers.
Extradition proceedings to transfer the suspects from Spain to Italy are under way.
