The ships will stop: where were 10 tons of cocaine transported by sea
Oksana Zubareva, the wife of a convicted Spanish drug lord, will soon appear in court in a high-profile case of the detention of a ship with almost 10 tons of cocaine on board in Cape Verde. Her arrest became possible only after the return of the captain and the sailors of the crew to their homeland. Details of the investigation can be found in the Izvestia article.
The final charge
The Prosecutor General's Office of the Russian Federation last week approved charges against Oksana Zubareva, a 51-year-old Russian woman, for attempted drug trafficking on an especially large scale.
According to investigators, in November – December 2018, Zubareva and a citizen of the Kingdom of Spain, whose case was separated into a separate proceeding, "acting as part of an international organized group engaged in drug trafficking, picked up and hired the crew of an ESER cargo ship in Russia."
The investigation found that the accused coordinated the actions of accomplices from the Belgorod region.
"At the direction of the accused, who coordinates the actions of her accomplices from the Belgorod region, the vessel changed course while at sea," the Prosecutor General's Office said in a press release.
Further, off the coast of one of the Latin American countries, the crew took on board 8.7 tons of pure cocaine from unidentified persons (including 9.5 tons of impurities), after which the ship headed for the port of destination — the Kingdom of Morocco.
However, chance intervened in the plans of the drug mafia.
"Due to the death of one of those on board, the cocaine ship was forced to enter the port of Praia in the Republic of Cape Verde, where at the end of January 2019, together with the crew members, it was detained by the local police," the press release says.
In 2020, a court in Cape Verde sentenced the crew members. "By the court of the District of Praia, the accomplices, led by the captain, were convicted of drug trafficking."
The report of the supervisory authority notes that "the investigation into foreign accomplices is ongoing." This indicates that the international component of this high-profile drug trafficking case has not yet been closed.
Who is Zubareva?
The case of smuggling such a huge amount of cocaine has become one of the most high-profile in recent years. The investigation has been going on for five years in several countries. Russian investigators also joined the process — Oksana Zubareva was arrested in Belgorod, whom the investigation considers to be a key intermediary in organizing the transportation of drugs on the ESER vessel. She is without exaggeration one of the most important people in the Galician drug cartel, as evidenced by the evidence collected in several countries in the criminal case.
It is known about the person involved in the investigation that she has an adult son from Spanish businessman Alfonso Juncal Santos, who was arrested and convicted in 2007 as part of Operation Flash, directed against members of the Galician-Colombian drug cartel.
In 2010, Spanish prosecutors demanded huge prison terms — totaling almost 1,900 years — for 32 members of an international drug cartel based in Galicia. This criminal group, linked to the infamous Los Charlines clan, has been involved in large-scale cocaine trafficking from Colombia to Europe for years. Alfonso Juncal Santos was the key defendant, and the investigation considered him to be the financial "brain" and logistician of the entire operation. He also laundered mafia money. Hunkal used his legal business (including the Nanton fishing company and real estate) to supply supplies as a cover for laundering millions of euros from drug trafficking. The merger of the Galician mafia with Colombian suppliers brought astronomical income to the partners. They used modern vessels, in particular the SVE Viking vessel, capable of transporting up to 5,000 kg of cocaine per voyage. The drugs were transported across the Atlantic Ocean and then loaded onto smaller boats off the coast of Galicia for unloading on shore. The investigation proved several successful flights, during which at least 9 tons of cocaine were imported to Europe.
According to one version, she could have participated in an adventure with ESER in order to restore the family well-being that had been shaken after her husband's arrest. By the way, the couple lived in Russia most of the time.
Hunkal's business empire, which included fishing and real estate, was, according to investigators, only a cover for money laundering. Zubareva was mentioned in the national media as a suspect in hiding her husband's assets. The Spanish police have identified three money laundering centers in total, a law enforcement source told Izvestia. In Galicia, nine companies, the main one being Ecolive World sl., were linked to assets in Panama, Mexico, Colombia, Romania, Guinea-Bissau and Russia. Malaga Final Destination sl. (under the control of the Spanish Mansour brothers) - this network was engaged in drug distribution and money laundering in Europe. The mafia's financial instruments were concentrated in Madrid, with more than 40 firms linking Spanish assets to the Dominican Republic and Panama. This wing of the international criminal community was controlled by the mafia's "wallet" Leopoldo Luis Ardura Gancedo.
According to a source familiar with the investigation, Zubareva paid for car and hotel rentals in the Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina. She carried out settlements with a number of individuals, including Vietnamese citizens Nguyen Thi Nguyen and Truong Thi Mi Han, who, according to banks, carried out questionable transactions in excess of 26.8 million rubles, later there was another transaction in the amount of about 90 thousand dollars. Transfers were also made from Zubareva's accounts to Syrian citizen Murad M. and Afghan citizen Said N. According to the Spanish investigation, the foreigner may be associated with the Islamic State terrorist organization banned in Russia (he traveled to Syria to collect funds).
How the cocaine flight was prepared
The preparation of the flight began in 2018. In March, Ecolive, a company whose stated activity was waste recycling, was registered in Panama. In the summer, Zubareva registers SNAD LLC in Belgorod, which practically does not operate. According to investigators, in the fall Zubareva, at the request of Panamanian partner Javier Ortiz Olamendi, hires a Russian crew for the ESER vessel through captain Sergey Kotlovsky.
Seized narcotic substances
The vessel purchased in Turkey is heading to Panama. 640 thousand euros were spent on equipment and preparation for taking drugs on board. The money came from the accounts of gaskets companies from Mexico, Russia, as well as from individuals. Before the deal, another 270 thousand euros were transferred through mafia channels, which were used to purchase real estate and cars (this is one of the schemes for money laundering), another 400 thousand euros were deposited in cash, which were transferred in hotel rooms.
"There is a theory that after completing its mission, the ship could have been flooded," the source said.
Dangerous maneuver
At the end of 2018, the ESER vessel with a Russian crew is sailing along the coast of South America. Near the uninhabited Venezuelan island of Tortuga, the ship is surrounded by armed men on high—speed boats (one with a machine-gun turret) and bags of cocaine are loaded on board, allegedly against the will of the crew. According to Captain Kotlovsky, Zubareva confirmed by satellite that these were "customers" and ordered them to proceed to Morocco.
In January 2019, the XO dies on board on his way to Africa. The captain decides to call at the nearest port in Cape Verde. On January 31, 2019, a record shipment of 9.5 tons of cocaine was searched and seized at the port of Praia ESER. The crew has been arrested. Their trial lasted from 2019 to 2024: all 12 crew members were found guilty by the Cape Verdean court. Captain Kotlovsky received 12 years. Two sailors died in prison.
Earlier in the press, the captain and crew members were presented as innocent of the crime. However, there is also a version not in favor of the captain and his team.
— The fact is that billing of cellular and satellite phones from the ship was requested immediately after the detention, — the source told Izvestia. — According to these data, it is clear that the armed boats did not board the ship at all, the ship was waiting for them at a certain point, writing out figures of eight, that is, it "hung" in one square so that the delayed boats arrived on time.
In the spring of 2024, the remaining 10 sailors, led by Kotlovsky, were released on parole and deported to Russia. Their return opened up the possibility for interrogations and confrontations. Already in August, Oksana Zubareva was detained after a confrontation with Kotlovsky. The Belgorod Regional Court arrested her on charges of attempted drug trafficking on an especially large scale (part 3 of art. 30, Part 5 of art. 228.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). She faces up to 15 years in prison.
Forgotten articles
The seizure of the cocaine shipment may be related to the development of agents from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). Representatives of this service arrived in Cape Verde immediately after the vessel was detained, as happens when the supply is secretly controlled initially.
"I have a lot of questions about the prosecution," Sergei Pelikh, the former head of the investigative unit of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, who was involved in the ESER case at the initial stage, commented to Izvestia on the situation with the referral of the Zubareva case to the court. — For example, why Zubareva was not charged with an article on participation in a criminal community (art. 210 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). The evidence, including that gathered by her foreign colleagues, speaks to her knowledge of the cartel's affairs and her far from ordinary role in the organization. As far as I know, she should have been checked for other episodes. Also, the possible actions of the defendant related to the legalization of mafia proceeds and money laundering of Galician mafia families remained without a legal assessment.
Seized narcotic substances
In particular, there was a reasonable version about the woman's involvement in other matters of her spouse — for example, she appeared in the investigation of cocaine smuggling on the ships of her spouse's company. He recalled that the woman had registered a Nanton company in the Belgorod region (similar to her husband's company), which could be used to launder criminal proceeds.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
