Dilip Kuner
A SENIOR Spanish police inspector has been thrown behind bars without bail over claims he leaked top-secret information to a ruthless European drug gang.
Inspector Faustino Nogales, once head of the elite Group II Narcotics Unit in Palma, was arrested as part of a major probe into a sprawling mafia-style money-laundering and drug-smuggling empire.
The 53-year-old was hauled before a judge yesterday (Thursday, August 14) but refused to answer questions. The case remains under strict secrecy.
Sources say Nogales is not accused of directly trafficking drugs or laundering cartel cash — but is suspected of feeding sensitive intel to the gang’s kingpins, Stefan Milojevic and Gonzalo Marquez.
READ MORE:
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- Police chief jailed in corruption probe after taking bungs from drug gang in Spain
Both men are believed to run a network likened by investigators to the Camorra, Sicilian Mafia or ‘Ndrangheta, operating across the continent. Wiretaps reveal their aim was to “flood the Balearic Islands with cocaine” and wash the profits through a maze of front companies.
The cartel is already linked to a huge 675-kilo cocaine haul seized in Valencia last month from a truck bound from Ibiza – a bust that triggered a string of arrests.
According to police, the gang smuggled hashish from North Africa using high-powered inflatable boats, landing in Ibiza before distributing the drugs to mainland Spain and other Balearic islands.
Nogales now faces charges of breach of official secrets and dereliction of duty – crimes that prosecutors say caused ‘serious damage’ to the public interest.
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