Trial of the Benabad clan for a drug trafficking network with 19 defendants
The Prosecutor's Office requests up to 140 years in prison for the two alleged leaders of an organization dedicated to drugs and money laundering on the island
PalmaThe first chamber of the Provincial Court of the Balearic Islands will try, starting this Monday, the brothers Marcos and José Manuel Benabad, considered the alleged leaders of a criminal clan dedicated to drug trafficking in Mallorca, along with 17 other people.
According to the Prosecutor's Office, the group would have operated for years as a structured organization dedicated to the cultivation of marijuana and the large-scale import and distribution of cocaine, heroin, and MDMA on the island. The network would have had points of sale spread across Mallorca, with a special presence in the Son Banya settlement, and a structure based on small traffickers and collaborators.
The public ministry requests sentences that, in total, amount to 140 years in prison, in addition to fines exceeding 2.5 million euros and compensation above 26,000 euros. For the main defendant, Marcos Benabad, it requests 19 and a half years in prison, and for his brother José Manuel, 14 and a half years. The Prosecutor's Office's statement argues that the main defendants would have led the organization since the early 2000s and would have used properties and intermediaries to avoid detection, diverting criminal responsibility to lower-ranking collaborators.
Money laundering and criminal structure
In addition to drug trafficking, the case includes accusations of money laundering. According to the investigation, the network would have channeled the profits through the purchase of real estate properties, high-end vehicles, bank transfers, and the simulation of businesses and labor relations.
The Prosecutor's Office considers that this structure would have allowed them to maintain the activity for years and hinder police operations, despite several interventions in which large quantities of marijuana were seized.
Violence and intimidation
The public prosecutor's report also includes episodes of violence linked to the clan. One of the most notable is the kidnapping of a man in 2015 following an economic dispute related to a property where marijuana was allegedly grown without consent.
According to the indictment, the victim was allegedly held for hours and subsequently assaulted to pressure him into paying financial compensation.
A large-scale case
The judicial proceeding also includes several police operations since 2012, with searches of the accused's properties where drugs, money, and even 29 purebred horses were seized, some of which were confiscated by the Civil Guard.
