Five British gangsters have been arrested after storming a Spanish police van at gunpoint in a brazen attempt to free a fellow inmate in the heart of Ibiza.
The daytime ambush, which unfolded in October 2023 on a bustling city street, saw armed and masked attackers threaten Guardia Civil officers as they escorted a prisoner to a dental appointment.
Wearing bulletproof vests, the gang sprang their target from custody before torching their getaway vehicles – including a luxury car and motorcycle, both stolen from the UK and fitted with fake plates.
The prisoner was swiftly re-arrested just hours later, but authorities launched an international manhunt for the rest of the group – triggering Operation Van Ibiza, a joint investigation involving Spain’s Guardia Civil, Europol, and the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA).
What investigators uncovered was a plot straight out of a crime thriller: a meticulously planned extraction by a British criminal network with deep ties to the European drug trade, high-end vehicle theft, and global money laundering operations.
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According to police, the gang behind the van attack included hardened offenders with records for homicide, arms trafficking and drug smuggling across multiple countries.
Raids conducted in the days following the assault led to the discovery of around €80,000 in cash, a second UK-stolen vehicle, large quantities of narcotics and documents detailing the prison break.
Officers also recovered hand-drawn plans believed to be used during the assault.
Ballistics, forensic evidence, and intelligence gathered from the scene were sent to Europol labs for analysis and cross-border sharing – ultimately leading to the identification of all five suspects.
Three were apprehended in Ibiza. A fourth was tracked down in the UK by NCA agents. The fifth was captured by Portuguese authorities, bringing the international manhunt to a close.
The detainees – all British nationals – now face a long list of charges including aggravated assault on law enforcement, criminal conspiracy, drug trafficking, weapons offences, bodily harm, and attempting to subvert justice.
Police say the operation marks a significant blow to a ‘highly dangerous’ gang long on the radar of international agencies.
