Ibiza DJ alleged to be "mastermind" behind international drug smuggling operation

A DJ with a history performing at some of Ibiza's biggest parties and venues has been named as the alleged "mastermind" behind an international drug trafficking network, Diario de Ibiza reports.

Last week, the High Court of Justice of the Balearic Islands (TSJB) upheld a nine-and-a-half-year prison sentence against an Argentine national for offences including drug trafficking, membership in a criminal organisation, and electricity fraud.

The suspect is believed to be DJ Hugo Bianco, who hails from Mar del Plata, Argentina, and was once a regular face at Marco Carola's Music On parties in Ibiza and clubs such as Amnesia, Pacha Ibiza and Destino. He's also featured on line-ups for Albania's Unum Festival, London's 93 Feet East, and BPM Festival in Costa Rica. 

Read this next: Bust to boom: How drugs won the war on drugs

Following a joint investigation from Spain's Guardia Civil and US Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) dubbed Operation Pertinax, Bianco was identified as the "mastermind" behind a drug trafficking network alleged to have moved "significant" amounts of MDMA, cocaine, ketamine, and cannabis from the US to the Balearic Islands. 

Bianco has been accused of utilising his connections in Miami and Ibiza to provide "logistical support" to the operation from his home in Barcelona; authorities have declared the 54-year-old, who is currently believed to be residing in Florida, a "fugitive from justice" along with two other suspects.

In 2020, 21 suspects were arrested in connection with the network at Bianco's residence in Jesús, Santa Eulària des Riu, Ibiza, with authorities seizing 38kg of cannabis, 4,500 cannabis plants, 8kg of synthetic drugs and €45,000 in cash from the property. Additional arrests in Miami and Barcelona resulted in the seizure of 47kg of MDMA pills and 14kg of ketamine. 

As reported by Selector, authorities approached Bianco's Ibiza residence and were met with an alleged co-conspirator who "held a shotgun at them".

Read this next: "Super cartel" alleged to have supplied a third of Europe's cocaine have been arrested

"The man stood down upon realising they didn’t belong to a rival gang, but Bianco allegedly began flushing drugs down the toilet before they entered," the report details. 

The TSJB has rejected the defence's arguments that Bianco was not central to the drug trafficking operation and maintained investigators' use of wiretapped phone conversations as evidence. Alongside the prison sentence, Bianco has been fined €3 million. It will be possible for the defence to appeal the decision via the Spanish Supreme Court.

[Via: Diario de Ibiza]

Megan Townsend is Mixmag's Deputy Editor, get in touch with her here.