Article: Sun and Shady People; Is Spain's Costa del Sol the new criminal center of Europe?

Byline: William Underhill (With Mike Elkin in Madrid)

When armed Spanish police raided a cocaine-laden trawler on the high seas late last month, just one member of the smuggling gang was onboard. But police knew exactly where to look for the foreigners linked to the $400 million haul. The ringleaders, a Brit and two Irishmen, were arrested back on the Costa del Sol, a 120-kilometer strip of Spain's Mediterranean coast that's second home to a continent's criminal class.

If organized crime is a globalized business these days, then Spain could be its European headquarters. More than 60 percent of the cannabis that enters the continent, as well as half the ...

Related newspaper, magazine, and journal articles:

 
 
Newsweek Harper's Magazine The Washington Post Chicago Tribune Crain's Chicago Business PRNewswire Pediatric News The Nation Advertising Age The Economist (US) A FREE trial gives you access to over 80 million articles! Access over 6,500 publications with a FREE trial!