For Argentina, this is a defining moment: will the State be able to dismantle large-scale logistical networks, secure the ports, curb drug flights, and close the money laundering circle?
According to the investigation, the network sent cocaine from Bolivia and Paraguay to Argentine ports for subsequent international smuggling. Bilbao's financial setup was equally sophisticated. He lived in the gated community Tierra de Sueños 3 in Roldán and flaunted his wealth so ostentatiously that until January 2025, he became the target of intimidating messages.
Bilbao's arrest is a strong blow to the drug trafficking operating in the center of the country, particularly on air routes and in the fields of the Greater Rosario, considered until now areas of high vulnerability. But it also raises questions about which security forces, which port system, and which air control policies will allow cutting this type of highly organized drug trafficking.
Now, the focus will be on the judicial process, asset seizure, intelligence on the gang, and international cooperation to track the laundered money and still-active flights.
These seizures, coordinated by the Prosecutor's Office for Narcocriminality (PROCUNAR) together with the Prosecutor's Office for Economic Crime and Money Laundering (PROCELAC), uncovered a logistical system that crossed borders, used private airstrips in the fields of the Greater Rosario, light aircraft piloted by Colombians, and shell companies to launder capital.
Bilbao's organization operated with a complex supply chain: a clandestine airstrip in Campo Timbó, another airstrip in Carrizales under the command of his right-hand man, Pablo Javier Raynaud, detained months ago, and its own hangar. The detention of one of the most wanted, along with the seizure of almost a ton of cocaine and the downfall of a linked aircraft, sends a message of state reaction.
These companies were used to launder drug money. Fugitives from the gang, unidentified aircraft, and support routes in the fields remain at large.
PROCUNAR and PROCELAC investigations will examine the network of companies and subsidiaries, flights to Bolivia and Paraguay, and the exit routes from Argentine ports. Authorities believe this was a nascent "air cartel" that has now been decapitated.
Even so, the challenge persists. The arrest of Brian Bilbao, one of the country's most wanted drug traffickers, during a federal operation in the Exaltación de la Cruz area, Buenos Aires, and the simultaneous discovery of a light aircraft carrying at least 60 kg of cocaine in Arequito, Santa Fe, reveal the magnitude of a transnational drug trafficking air structure that used clandestine airstrips, its own fleet, and sophisticated money laundering operations.
The operation began with the detection of an aircraft in a field in the Pergamino region, which, according to police sources, was transporting 956 kg of cocaine. The crashed aircraft in Arequito and the discovered clandestine airstrips reinforce the hypothesis that the network had international reach. The response will determine if the structural vulnerability that allowed networks like Bilbao's to operate with impunity is maintained.
The media and operational impact is immediate. The pilots were professional Colombians who flew at low altitudes to evade radar. The National Gendarmerie intercepted a van in which Bilbao was traveling, who was finally arrested without resistance. Authorities are investigating his connection with the region's ports for the shipment of drugs to Europe or Asia.
It is suspected that the discovered logistical infrastructure includes night vision cameras, motion sensors, and encrypted communication systems, demonstrating an unusual level of sophistication for regional drug trafficking.
This case allows for a clear map of how organizations integrate light air transport, clandestine airstrips, shell companies, and international ties to cover up massive smuggling operations.
Through front men, he acquired the society VTX Rosario, owner of the Vorterix theaters in Rosario and Mar del Plata; a Renault Master van for artist transport; and companies such as Affascinante Pizzería, Rock and Beer, VyA Digital, Taxideral SRL, Remitaxi SRL, Glycine Max SRL, a biodiesel plant in Gálvez, and even a brick factory.
Meanwhile, in Arequito, a crashed aircraft was found that, after a forced landing, contained about 60 kg of drugs. This arrest can mark a before and after, if the effort translates into a complete dismantling and not just a symbolic blow.
After his capture, key airstrips were recovered, the van used was identified, and air activity in the area was resumed under intensive surveillance. His air fleet consisted of two Beechcraft Baron and one Cessna 210.
