Dawes’ second in command arrested in Torremolinos

EMIEL B, a 42-year-old Dutchman with a European Arrest Order in his name issued by the Dutch authorities, has been arrested in Torremolinos in a joint operation by the Guardia Civil and Dutch National Police coordinated by Europol.

During investigations prior to the arrest in Benalmadena in November 2015 of Robert Dawes, who is accused of drug trafficking and is currently doing time in a French jail, officers noted that he was constantly in contact with Emiel B, who often travelled to the Costa del Sol, presumably to receive instructions.

After Dawes was jailed, investigators discovered that the Dutchman continued visiting the Costa on a regular basis, presumably to keep the network’s Spanish infrastructure up and running, and when in Holland he was often visited by South American drug lords, the Guardia Civil has reported.

During one of Emiel B’s visits to Torremolinos his presence was detected at a ‘safe house’ the network had in a residential complex and the Guardia Civil moved in to arrest him while Dutch police officers did likewise with group members in Holland.

During searches of 15 properties in Spain and Holland, officers seized more than six kilos of cocaine, various weapons, €500,000 in cash, diamonds, luxury cars and 150 encrypted telephones.

The Torremolinos arrestee has been swiftly extradited to Holland, where he was sent to jail to await trial.