Football hooligan gang chief arrested over ecstasy ring from Spain

Pablo Bebote Álvarez, a long-standing leader of Independiente's football hooligan gang known as the barra brava, was arrested in Buenos Aires on Friday. He is being held in connection with an international gang that allegedly smuggles ecstasy from Spain to Argentina. The National Security Minister, Alejandra Monteoliva, announced on X that Álvarez is accused of being part of a narco-criminal organization that traffics drugs from Europe.

Álvarez was apprehended at the residence where he was under house arrest, equipped with an electronic ankle tag. This arrest followed a case involving a turf war between rival factions of Independiente's barra for control of the terraces. National Security Secretary, Martín Ferlauto, confirmed to the LN+ television that the investigation began in June after 12 litres of liquid ecstasy, hidden in tins of olive oil, were found at Ezeiza International Airport in Buenos Aires. The drugs were allegedly imported from Barcelona.

The initial investigation culminated in 27 raids in Buenos Aires and the northern province of Salta, leading to the arrest of 11 individuals and the seizure of additional narcotics and evidence. On Friday, five more raids were executed, during which Álvarez and another member of Independiente's barra, identified as Raúl Bruja Manzone, were apprehended. Ferlauto stated that both men are also linked to operations involving the import of significant quantities of cocaine from Bolivia, as part of an ongoing investigation.