The National Police and the Guardia Civil have culminated an anti-drug operation with the dismantling of an international criminal organisation, allegedly dedicated to transporting drugs from Spain to Sweden, according to sources from both bodies in a statement.
The operation, carried out in three phases, has culminated in the seizure of 110 kilos of marijuana, 66 kilos of hashish, 55 ecstasy pills, 10,000 litres of petrol, vehicles, trailers, GPS, manipulated firearms and compressed air, as well as 2,000 marijuana plants.
The 16 members of the alleged criminal organisation have been arrested, including the two alleged ringleaders, who have been imprisoned.
The investigation began in March and led the agents to follow the trail of the alleged drug traffickers from the south to the north of the country.
The first arrest was made in Lorca in July. In the course of that intervention, the agents found 40 kilos of marijuana inside a lorry. This was the starting point for the anti-drug operation that led to the total dismantling of the network.
LAST PHASE OF THE OPERATION AND COMPLETE DISMANTLING OF THE GANG
With part of the drugs already seized by the Guardia Civil and the National Police, all that remained was to arrest the members of the organisation. To do so, a final operation was set up, which resulted in the interception in Álava of a new lorry, when it was on its way to France with a load of more than seven kilos of marijuana.
In parallel to this intervention, the agents carried out six simultaneous searches in the municipalities of Los Garres-Murcia, Mula, San Javier, Los Alcázares and Lorca, as well as in Orihuela (Alicante), where seven vehicles, two trailers, four boat propellers, two compressed air weapons and a firearm manipulated and ready to be used, as well as different nautical GPS were seized.
A plantation consisting of almost 2,000 plants was also located and dismantled, and a kilo and a half of hashish and 55 ecstasy pills were seized.
10,000 LITRES OF GASOIL TO SUPPLY THE DRUG TRAFFICKERS’ BOATS.
What most caught the attention of the investigators was the large quantity of litres of petrol that the detainees were storing, a total of 370 canisters with around 10,000 litres of fuel that were seized.
Allegedly, the intention of the criminal organisation now dismantled was to supply, quickly and without leaving a trace, other criminal networks or members of their own network, in order to introduce the drugs by sea.
The operation, carried out jointly by the Guardia Civil and the National Police, has culminated in the arrest of 16 members of the alleged criminal organisation, including the two alleged ringleaders, and the seizure of more than 165 kilos of hashish and marijuana and 10,000 litres of petrol.