Spain’s most wanted drug trafficker is in police custody after he was spotted making a cameo appearance in a music video surrounded by women in bikinis.
Officers had been searching for Francisco Tejon for nearly two years when he walked into a police station in Andalucia on Wednesday morning accompanied by his lawyer, ready to turn himself in.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The gang’s operations centre on the town of La Linea de la Concepcion, whose proximity to the Moroccan coast makes it “the frontline of Spain’s battle against the traffickers”. In 2017, police seized 145,372kg of hashish in the region, as well as 11,785kg of cocaine
In June, Tejon’s younger brother, Antonio, was nabbed in a police raid involving more than 100 officers.
However, there was no sign of “Isco” until earlier this month, when he emerged from hiding in an unexpected fashion - in a cameo appearance in a music video by Cuban reggaeton singer Clase-A.
In the clip for the singer’s new track Candela, Tejon and Clase-A are shown “climbing out of a Bentley and performing a high-five before walking into a house full of champagne and women in bikinis”, The Guardian reports.
To add insult to injury, some scenes were “shot outside a house once used by Los Castanas for their private orgies”, El Pais reports. Doubtless to the chagrin of the detectives pursuing Tejon, “it appears that he never left the city in this entire time”.
The video was uploaded on 7 October and “amassed 50,000 views on YouTube before being replaced by an audio-only version as the controversy over Tejon’s appearance grew”, says The Daily Telegraph.
In a statement, Spain’s National Police said Tejon’s arrest “dismantled the top level of the biggest hashish-smuggling gang that operates in the Campo de Gibraltar area” and praised officers’ “ceaseless” pursuit of the gang’s inner circle.
However, the battle for La Linea de la Concepcion is far from over. Although Los Castanas were estimated to control 60% of the drugs trade, police estimate there could be more than 30 drug gangs and 3,000 direct collaborators operating in the area, El Pais reports.
-
Le Pen back in the dock: the trial that’s shaking FranceIn the Spotlight Appealing her four-year conviction for embezzlement, the Rassemblement National leader faces an uncertain political future, whatever the result
-
The doctors’ strikesThe Explainer Resident doctors working for NHS England are currently voting on whether to go out on strike again this year
-
5 chilling cartoons about increasing ICE aggressionCartoons Artists take on respect for the law, the Fourth Amendment, and more
-
Panama and Canada are negotiating over a crucial copper mineIn the Spotlight Panama is set to make a final decision on the mine this summer
-
Why Greenland’s natural resources are nearly impossible to mineThe Explainer The country’s natural landscape makes the task extremely difficult
-
Iran cuts internet as protests escalateSpeed Reada Government buildings across the country have been set on fire
-
US nabs ‘shadow’ tanker claimed by RussiaSpeed Read The ship was one of two vessels seized by the US military
-
How Bulgaria’s government fell amid mass protestsThe Explainer The country’s prime minister resigned as part of the fallout
-
Femicide: Italy’s newest crimeThe Explainer Landmark law to criminalise murder of a woman as an ‘act of hatred’ or ‘subjugation’ but critics say Italy is still deeply patriarchal
-
Brazil’s Bolsonaro behind bars after appeals run outSpeed Read He will serve 27 years in prison
-
Americans traveling abroad face renewed criticism in the Trump eraThe Explainer Some of Trump’s behavior has Americans being questioned
