Europol: Spanish police crack Europe´s biggest ‘narco bank’

MADRID (AP) — European Union police agency Europol says Spanish police have dismantled an organized crime group believed to have been running Europe’s biggest “narco-bank,” used to launder the proceeds from drug trafficking. Europol says the group, composed mainly of Syrians, operated out of a Spanish town and provided financial services to gangs linked to drug trafficking in more than twenty countries. Police say the group is believed to have laundered over 300 million euros ($290 million) each year since 2020. They said 32 people were arrested in raids that took place Sept. 27. The group used the so-called “hawala” system popular with criminal gangs and others to move large amounts of money without wire or other records.