The National Police, in a joint operation with the Tax Agency’s Customs Surveillance, has arrested 18 people from a criminal organisation for their alleged participation in crimes of belonging to a criminal organisation and against public health, among others. According to the National Police in a statement, they were involved in neo-Shamanic rituals for international profit. The arrests have been carried out in different parts of Spain, including one in Ibiza, which was one of their headquarters known as “epicentres of inner evolution” in Spain.
They are charged with the crimes of human trafficking, professional intrusion, against workers’ rights, smuggling and infringement of the law on foreigners. The arrestees promoted and organized meetings through which they participants paid for and where prohibited psychoactive substances dangerous to health were supplied.
The investigation has been carried out by agents of the General Commissariat of Information and officers of the Madrid Regional Operational Unit of the General Directorate of Customs Surveillance (State Agency of Tax Administration), with the support of the Provincial Information Brigades of Barcelona, Granada, Local Information Brigade of Ibiza, the General Commissariat of Judicial Police and the General Commissariat of Foreigners and Borders.
The operation has been led by the 43rd Court of Instruction of Madrid and by the Anti-Drug Section of the Provincial Prosecutor’s Office of Madrid.
Colombian psychoactive substances in rituals
The investigation began when agents specialized in the fight against destructive sects, detected the presence of a commercial network that promoted through social networks and websites the celebration of neo-shamanic rituals. These advertisements promised an improvement in the physical and emotional health of the participants thanks to the consumption of different psychoactives.
After carrying out several investigations, the agents were able to verify that the organization maintained a headquarters in the Colombian jungle where it had the means and raw material necessary to to elaborate the ayahuasca concoctionwhich he then smuggled into Spain through the Madrid-Barajas-Adolfo Suárez airport by means of “mules” or by simulating imports of other products.
In addition, numerous parcels addressed to members of the group containing mescaline and ayahuasca were detected.
The organization had headquarters called “epicenters of inner evolution” distributed in the provinces of Madrid, Barcelona, Malaga, Granada, and Ibizathe company has been present in different European countries (France, Italy, Belgium, Ireland, Finland, Romania and Malta, mainly) and in other parts of the world (Mexico, Colombia and Turkey), in which they celebrated these rituals and where the members of the organization resided, working long hours in irregular conditions.
The arrested men, under the protection of a complex commercial network, promoted and organized internationally multiple retreats called “inner evolution”, where they supplied the attendees with psychoactive substances prohibited and dangerous to health, such as ayahuasca, sapo bufo, kambo frog and peyote. This consumption was supervised by a licensed physician and his partner -who pretended to be a medical graduate-, thus guaranteeing the suitability of the practice. For this purpose, they even had an online platform, through which they distributed these substances.
The leader of the organization, who died during the investigation of the case, was considered by his followers as a spiritual master or guru. He was also charged with crimes against sexual freedom and indemnity and favoring clandestine immigration.
More than one kilo mescaline and 60 kilos of ayahuasca seized
During the searches, some of those investigated were caught initiating the celebration of a ritual, moments before providing these psychoactives to a large group of attendees.
In the operation, a total of eight searches were carried out -as well as numerous interventions of postal shipments carried out by the Customs Surveillance Service of the Tax Agency at Madrid Barajas airport- in which 24,000 euros and different foreign currencies in cash, 1 kilo of mescaline, more than 60 kilos of ayahuasca, other psychoactive substances and instruments for their consumption were seized. Also a dataphone, computer and audiovisual production material, numerous cell phones, two drones and a high-end vehicle, among other effects.
According to the investigators, this type of psychoactive substances are commonly used in the context of ceremonies practiced by the so-called “new age sects”, specifically in neo-shamanic rituals. The fact that the administration is accompanied by various stimuli such as environmental paraphernalia, chants, lights, incense, etc., helps to induce dissociative states of consciousness that lead to the introjection of expected norms of social and individual behavior. Thus, psychoactives become an instrument used by the shaman for the recruitment and coercive control of the group. In addition, these substances are also used as a substitute therapy for conventional medicine.
The specialists in charge of these investigations maintain the e-mail address sectasdestructivas@policia.es so that any citizen can anonymously and confidentially report facts related to the activities of sectarian groups.
For the full article, please visit Diario de Ibiza website here.