Coordinated by authorities in Colombia and Spain, “Operation Gulupa” has revealed how drug cartels are increasingly turning to crypto to launder their illicit revenue from traditional banking systems.
According to reporting by El Pais, the investigation that uncovered this complex transactional network between crypto wallets lasted 2 1/2 years and is considered the most significant case involving crypto-assets for the Colombian justice system to date.
The probe uncovered a network that trafficked drugs camouflaged in shipments of gulupa, a sweet, purple-shelled fruit widely cultivated in Colombia, while simultaneously moving vast sums of money through digital wallets to evade detection.
Clan del Golfo cartel has been laundering money through crypto since 2020
The operation has brought to light the logistical evolution of cartels such as Clan del Golfo, Colombia’s most powerful criminal organization. Investigators found that the network began migrating from traditional money movement systems to operations with crypto-assets in late 2020. By 2022, the group had established intermediary companies for virtual assets in six countries to channel illicit resources.
Operating under the name “B2Tech,” these shell companies were set up in Spain, Lithuania, the United States, Nicaragua, the Czech Republic, and El Salvador. In Colombia, the company was registered as an industrial cybersecurity service provider.
According to reporting by El Pais, the crypto money laundering scheme functioned by cartels collecting cash from cocaine sales in Europe through local intermediaries operating outside the banking system.
One intermediary would receive the cash in one country, while another in a different jurisdiction would deliver the equivalent amount in crypto-assets to the seller. To simulate legality, the network utilized exchange platforms and executed multiple small transactions to avoid raising red flags.
Almost US$46 million has been laundered, reveals the operation
Authorities determined that at least 170 billion pesos, or approximately US$46 million, were hidden using this modality.
The roots of the investigation trace back to 2021, when Belgian authorities raided the offices of Sky ECC, an encrypted messaging portal used by organized crime. That operation led to the discovery of four Colombians using the platform to coordinate cocaine shipments to Europe.
Intelligence gathered from decrypted messages eventually led Colombian police to the “invisible” narco network linked to Clan del Golfo. The cartel was responsible for delivering drugs to ports in Colombia and Ecuador. The investigation noted that for a single shipment of 200 kilos, the payment delivered to the armed group was 25 billion pesos.
The drugs often stopped in the Caribbean to be fractioned and repackaged before continuing to ports in Spain, Portugal, and Belgium.
The operation has put ‘capos’ behind bars
The investigation led to key arrests, including Pablo Felipe Prada Moriones, known as “Black Jack,” and his brother Santiago Prada Moriones, known as “Marco,” who were captured by the Spanish Civil Guard in Madrid and Ibiza. In Colombia, police arrested Jimmy Garcia Solarte, accused of transporting the illicit money, and Brenda Yineth Pineda, the legal representative of several front companies.
This case highlights a broader trend in the Colombian drug trade. According to El Pais, groups such as FARC dissidents and Clan del Golfo have begun replacing suitcases full of cash with cryptocurrency investments that are eventually converted back into “clean” money.
Forensic analysts at Colombia’s Financial Information and Analysis Unit (UIAF) explained that illicit money enters the system when converted to crypto in countries with weak controls. The funds are then fragmented into hundreds of movements across different wallets and platforms to dilute their trail before being reintegrated into the formal economy.
Between 2023 and 2024 alone, more than US$40 billion in crypto transactions were moved in Colombia, cementing the country as one of the five largest cryptocurrency markets in Latin America.