A ‘drug lord’ nicknamed ‘Don Carlos’ linked to the feared Colombian cartels of Cali and Medellin is arrested in Spain after police traced a 130-pound shipment of cocaine hidden in FLOWER BOXES
- Florentino Fernandez, nicknamed Don Carlos, is arrested in Marbella, Costa del Sol.
- He is said to have been a drug smuggler in Colombia for 30 years.
- Spanish police said the arrest came after 130 pounds of cocaine were found in Colombia.
- Fernandez had previously been sentenced to 24 years in prison for leading a gang that kidnapped women.
In the United States, a “drug lord” nicknamed “Don Carlos” has been arrested, associated with the Colombian cartels of Cali and Medellin. Spain after police tracked down a 130-pound shipment of cocaine hidden in flower boxes.
Florentino Fernandez, who is said to have been a drug smuggler in Colombia for 30 years, was arrested while drinking coffee in Marbella on Costa del Sol.
Policia Nacional, Spain’s national police force, said the arrest came after a joint investigation with Colombian authorities that found 130 pounds of cocaine hidden in flower boxes from Colombia.
Video published on the official website of the Policia Nacional. Twitter The report showed that arrests were made and officers on the outskirts of Seville searched a car that was used to transport drugs from Seville to Malaga.
Two people were arrested at the scene after the drugs were found hidden in the trunk compartment.
Florentino Fernandez, nicknamed Don Carlos, was arrested by the Spanish police while drinking coffee in Marbella. Police said he was passing 130 pounds of cocaine to end customers.
Officers on the outskirts of Seville found drugs hidden in the trunk of a car. The car was supposed to be used to transport drugs from Seville to Malaga.
Police said the investigation had been ongoing for 18 months when detectives first became aware that the suspect intended to import “large quantities of cocaine from South America”.
Police intervened and arrested Fernandez as he was passing the drugs to end buyers, the police said in a statement.
In his house, detectives found more than 200,000 euros in cash and a revolver with cartridges.
Police said they would freeze €350,000 worth of property, as well as the accounts of three people and six companies linked to the investigation.
The Policia Nacional said it has known about Fernandez, nicknamed Don Carlos, since 1993, when officers found him in contact with significant drug traffickers in Europe and South America.
At Fernandez’s house, detectives found more than 200,000 euros in cash and a revolver with cartridges.
He was imprisoned for 24 years after being accused of leading an organization that kidnapped two women for an outstanding drug-trafficking debt, but returned to drug smuggling after his release.
Described as “a powerful Spanish drug dealer, Fernández, who was born in northern Spain, lived for many years in Colombia and Venezuela, where he was involved in a huge money laundering network.”
Police said he surrounded himself with South America’s “major drug dealers” and provided services to the Medellin Cartel, even taking up residence in the Madrid home of Gilberto Orejuela, the former head of the Cali drug cartel.