A fugitive who became known as Europe’s most wanted woman for her alleged involvement in drug and animal trafficking has been caught after almost four years on the run.
Tania Gomez, 32, was apprehended in Lanzarote last week after fleeing her native Sweden in 2021.
Dubbed Europe’s ‘cocaine queen,’ Gomez is thought to be connected to an organised crime group in Stockholm, for whom she delivered and transported large quantities of narcotics and money.
Before her criminal connections surfaced, Gomez was known as an Instagram influencer and the glamorous owner of dog rescue charity HundGärin, which seemingly worked to give stray dogs a new life.
But according to Europol, the supposed animal lover was linked ‘to a network of illegal animal ownership and their transport abroad’.
She is also suspected of being involved in one of the networks that was uncovered during a Swedish police raid on offices in central Stockholm in the summer of 2020.
Around one million euros in cash was found in bags during the sting operation, and Gomez is accused of laundering millions through the office, which was reportedly used by drug dealers and mafia members.
Swedish authorities are seeking a 14-year prison sentence for her if she is convicted for drug trafficking and money laundering offences.
Tania Gomez, 32, was apprehended in Lanzarote after fleeing her native Sweden in 2021
Spanish police released a video of the arrest, which shows Gomez being taken into a police station by two officers
Gomez made it to Europol’s most wanted list after going on the run in 2021
Gomez was said to have been high up in the gangster hierarchy, Bild reports, with investigators uncovering documents that suggested that she was actively involved in criminal deals.
She is also accused of storing and selling large quantities of drugs, with authorities saying she received ten kilos of cocaine in Stockholm in May 2020.
After the 2020 raid in Stockholm, Gomez went on the run and is thought to have fled to Spain, where her father is from.
She was tracked down to the town of Tias on the Canary Island of Lanzarote last week, in a joint operation between Spanish and Swedish police.
Cops made the breakthrough after new information from the wanted persons department emerged, with a number of tip offs reportedly received in recent weeks.
Spanish police released a video of the arrest, which shows Gomez being taken into a police station by two officers.
According to Europol, the supposed animal lover was linked ‘to a network of illegal animal ownership and their transport abroad’
Gomez is accused of storing and selling large quantities of drugs, with authorities saying she received ten kilos of cocaine in Stockholm in May 2020
She was detained by a court pending extradition to Sweden, according to reports.
Police spokeswoman Isabel López confirmed: ‘The police were able to arrest Tania Gomez in the town of Tias on Lanzarote.’
Ten alleged former accomplices of Gomez have already been on trial in Sweden, with prosecutors handing them long prison sentences.
Public prosecutor Anna Stråth told Swedish TV channel TV4: ‘That plays no role in the proceedings against Tania Gomez. She will have her own trial.’
When a trial may be is unclear. Stråth added that prosecutors ‘have submitted an extradition request, which is now being examined in Spain,’ a process she said could take weeks or months.
