The Spanish National Police is preparing for the possible arrival of the Aragua train

(CNN Spanish) — At noon on March 7, the Spanish National Police arrested in the center of Barcelona the brother of the top leader of the criminal organization “Tren de Aragua”, who was requested by Venezuela for alleged participation in terrorism, human trafficking, weapons crimes . Smuggling, extortion, money laundering and criminal cartels.

A national police inspector specializing in gangs told CNN that it was the first arrest that the security body had made of a member of this dangerous criminal group, originally from Venezuela, and it came just days after receiving a red notice from Interpol. It happened hours later. Criminals who were part of the group that carried out the investigation and arrest.

“He didn’t know he was wanted, he didn’t have to hide,” this inspector explained. He said, for this reason, it was easy for them to find him and arrest him without complications.

It is not clear his reason for staying in Spain or whether he was trying to establish the structure of this criminal group. “That’s the thing we’re most cautious about right now and we’re trying to confirm it,” the inspector said. “We’ll always have our suspicions about him being who he is, but right now nothing has shown us that that was the case.”

The biggest limitation of this national police group is that, among other things, they cannot access the detainee’s mobile phone to obtain more information, because the Interpol notification “comes with a very specific issue, simply extradition. ” He added, “We can’t see what the links are.”

It is also not clear how long he was in Spain. According to this source, the only certainty is that he entered the country through “legal channels” and with his passport.

be prepared for danger

Given the threat posed by the arrival of fugitives and members of international criminal organizations, the National Police maintains a network of connections with other security forces through international forums. Places in which they share information and which, on occasion, were helpful for them to be prepared. “Countries in South America and Central America alerted us about the possible extension of the Aragua train. “We were alert.”

But not everything can be predicted. On some occasions, this inspector acknowledged, there are people close to dangerous gangs who can enter Spain without a criminal record. “Many people use passports when entering as tourists.”

For this reason, the National Police has a multidisciplinary group with which to combat these threats. A group composed of fugitive group agents from the General Information Commissariat, the General Judicial Police Commissariat and the General Immigration and Border Commissariat.

All this was added to coordination with the rest of the countries from which they receive information, who “are very willing to cooperate, while they do not want criminal groups to establish themselves here.”

When will he be extradited?

The detainee was placed at the disposal of the Central Investigation Court No. 4 of the National Court on 8 March, the day after his arrest. Since then he has been in jail awaiting extradition.

The next step for Venezuela is to submit the extradition demand so that the National Court can begin the judicial phase that will study its delivery. However, a spokesperson for this judicial body told CNN that, as of Tuesday, they had not yet received the request.