Police detain one of Europe's most wanted fugitives near Barcelona

Spain's National Police arrested one of Europol's most wanted fugitives in an upscale residential area near Barcelona, as was made public on Saturday.

The criminal, E.K., known as DEC, had an outstanding European Arrest Warrant issued by Slovenia in 2019 for trafficking 300 kilos of heroin from Iran into the country.

E.K. allegedly brought the drugs into Slovenia in 2018 and 2019 by hiding them in ceramic adhesive bags that were sent to the port of Koper in a container. These were then transported to a warehouse from which they were meant to be distributed.

Spanish and Slovenian officers worked together to uncover the other identities the criminal used as well as where he had lived and cars he had driven before locating him hiding in a high-end community with a golf course near Barcelona. 

Spanish and Slovenian officers worked together to uncover the criminal's other identities as well as where he had lived and cars he had driven before locating him hiding in a high-end community with a golf course near Barcelona.  

Police carried out surveillance from a nearby forest area as the small community's neighborhood watch chat group made their task more difficult. Spanish officers were assisted by two who had come in from Slovenia to help them catch E.K. off guard. 

Another criminal was arrested recently in a different police raid in Barcelona. The fugitive was wanted in Germany, where he faces up to 18 years behind bars for marihuana trafficking