Spanish national police have arrested a total of 16 members of the United Tribuns street gang on suspicion of drug dealing and extortion, among other possible charges. Firearms and ammunition, 70,000 euros in cash and a laboratory for chemical drugs and marijuana plantations were found during raids on properties in Palma de Mallorca, Barcelona, Valencia and Tarragona. Police also seized around a kilo of cocaine and ready-to-sell marijuana packets.
Six out of 16 arrests were made in Mallorca, where the German biker-style gang established its Spanish base in 2018. Since then it has opened chapters in Madrid, Barcelona, Girona, Tarragona, Valencia and Tenerife. Stefan Milojevic, said to be the leader of the United Tribuns gang in Mallorca was among those arrested.
Those arrested face charges of belonging to a criminal organisation, drug trafficking, document fraud and causing injury.
United Tribuns was founded in Germany in 2004 by Bosnian former boxer Almir Culum and has some 1700 members worldwide. Although it defines itself as an association of bodybuilders, mixed martial arts fighters, doormen and “rockers”, it has been compared to the Hells Angels, with a hierarchical structure and biker aesthetic marked by leather vests, military patches, tattoos, as well as membership rituals. According to investigators, the gang has strong links with national and international right-wing extremists and neo-Nazi organisations.
Since arriving on the island the gang has sought to take control of the drugs trade in nightclubs in Mallorca, where its members are employed as security staff. They are also suspected of involvement in prostitution operated through clandestine parties and brothels. Their activities have led to violent clashes with other criminal groups on the island as well hooligan supporters of Real Club Deportivo Mallorca, police said in a statement.
