Drugs

Dismantled an international criminal organization that introduced large amounts of hashish into France and Portugal

There are 22 detainees and 4,450 kilos of hashish, 33,700 euros, 10 vehicles, 9 motorcycles, 10 mobile phones and various pieces of jewelry have been seized

In one of the registered warehouses the agents located a clandestine workshop dedicated to the manufacture of hidden rooms (coves) in the trailers where, later, they hid and transported hashish as well as the economic profits from drug trafficking

Those investigated were supplied with the narcotic substance in the Campo de Gibraltar and, later, they transported it in vans to Córdoba, where they had all the necessary infrastructure to store and camouflage the hashish; finally, they transported it outside our borders inside double bottoms of large tonnage trucks

The dismantled organization, which was strongly hierarchical, was made up of members of a violent nature who maintained strong security measures in their movements and contacts. In addition, they used sophisticated telecommunications encryption systems

drug ambush

03/27/21

Agents of the National Police and Customs Surveillance officials of the Tax Agency, in a joint operation, have dismantled an international criminal organization that introduced large amounts of hashish into France and Portugal.

There are 22 people arrested and 4,450 kilos of hashish, 33,700 euros, 10 vehicles, 9 motorcycles, 10 mobile phones, and various pieces of jewelry have been seized, among other effects. In one of the registered warehouses, the agents located a clandestine workshop dedicated to the manufacture of hidden rooms (coves) in the trailers where they later hid and transported hashish and the economic profits from drug trafficking. Those investigated were supplied with the narcotic substance in the Campo de Gibraltar and, later, they transported it in vans to Córdoba, where they had all the necessary infrastructure to store and camouflage the hashish; finally, they transported it outside our borders inside double bottoms of large tonnage trucks. The dismantled organization, that was strongly hierarchical, it was made up of members of a violent nature who maintained strong security measures in their movements and contacts. In addition, they used sophisticated telecommunications encryption systems. This operation is part of the “Meridional Plan”, through which the National Police tries to give an effective response to the phenomenon of drug trafficking in southern Spain.

The investigation began in August 2020 when the agents learned of the existence of a criminal organization, based in Córdoba, which had an industrial warehouse where it allegedly stored large quantities of hashish. The first inquiries made it possible to verify this information and to verify that, in addition, the organization had other warehouses distributed by different industrial estates of the city. In addition, the investigators located a fleet of trucks and trailers that would be used to make large shipments of this narcotic substance.

They extended their ties from the Campo de Gibraltar to France and Portugal

After several police steps, the agents observed that the investigated were supplied with hashish in the Campo de Gibraltar and, later, they transferred it in vans to Córdoba. There they had all the necessary infrastructure to store and camouflage hashish along with legal merchandise; finally, they transported it outside our borders inside double bottoms of large tonnage trucks.

On the other hand, due to the large fleet of trucks and trailers owned by the organization, the agents detected that it also transported and supplied semi-rigid boats or “rubber” to the clans operating in the Strait of Gibraltar. They also learned that, for the manufacture of these vessels, they were using different shipyards in Portugal.

As the investigation progressed, the agents were informed that one of the trucks under investigation had been intercepted at the La Junquera border post last May, finding 285 kilos of hashish inside. This made it possible to identify the alleged leader of the network, who would have served a sentence in different prisons in France and Italy in relation to events of similar characteristics. This led to the creation of channels of cooperation with the French police and culminated in a police force in the vicinity of Lyon (France). There they intercepted one of the trucks investigated in Córdoba that, days ago, had headed to the neighboring country from one of the industrial warehouses located in that city. As a result of such a device,

Hierarchical organization, strict security measures and telecommunications encryption

Investigators found that it was a highly hierarchical criminal organization, whose members stood out for their violent nature. In addition, they took strong security measures -both in their travels and in their contacts- and used sophisticated encryption systems for telecommunications.

Later in the investigation, the agents detected that the members of the organization were planning an imminent trip to the south of Andalusia to obtain a large quantity of hashish. For this reason, they carried out a device on one of the industrial warehouses in Córdoba, from where they observed a truck leaving towing a van on a platform, as well as the organization’s lieutenant traveling in his vehicle as a shuttle. The truck traveled to a farm with difficult access in the town of Tarifa (Cádiz), but it was on its return to Córdoba – at the height of the AP-7 motorway toll, in the town of Marbella – when it was intercepted. In the inspection of the interior of the towed van they found 750 kilos of hashish in 22 burlap bales and; subsequently, they detained the driver of the vehicle.

As a result of the previous device, the investigators located and dismantled in Tarifa the “nursery” from which the intervened narcotic substance came. They also arrested one person and seized 9,350 euros, various transmission equipment and six mobile phones. On the other hand, they recovered an off-road vehicle that had been stolen in Madrid and that was used by the organization to move the hashish bales from the Algecirean coast to the interior of the dismantled “nursery”. Furthermore, the vehicle had been manipulated to be able to expel fire extinguisher powder to the outside, allowing them to flee from a possible police pursuit.

They changed the location of their logistics centers and changed the modus operandi

As a consequence of the police coup, the criminal organization decided to change the location of its logistics centers and vary its modus operandi. In this sense, the agents detected that its members began to travel to Madrid to obtain large quantities of hashish. Likewise, they located new industrial warehouses for the storage of the narcotic substance.

Thanks to various efforts, the researchers noticed that one of the organization’s trucks left a logistics center in Córdoba headed for Madrid, at the same time that one of its members began the same journey aboard their tourism acting as a vehicle ” shuttle”. When the truck reached its destination – a warehouse located in an industrial estate in Coslada (Madrid) – they observed how they loaded, inside the trailer, a series of pallets on which they deposited several packages covered in black plastic. Suspecting that it could be hashish, the agents intercepted and inspected it on the way back to Córdoba, locating 1,300 kilos of hashish distributed in 40 burlap bales and arresting the driver of the vehicle (who turned out to be the criminal organization’s lieutenant). ).

They had a clandestine workshop in Madrid where they manufactured “caletas” in the trailers to hide and transport drugs

The final phase of the investigation concluded with various searches in homes and industrial buildings linked to the organization. Among the effects intervened are 4,450 kilos of hashish, 33,735 euros, 10 vehicles (7 of them high-end), 9 motorcycles, 3 luxury watches, different pieces of jewelry and 10 mobile phones. In addition, the agents arrested another 18 people for the alleged crimes of belonging to a criminal organization and against public health.

In one of the registered warehouses, located in the Madrid town of Ciempozuelos, the agents verified the existence of a clandestine workshop for the manufacture of hidden rooms (coves) in the trailers where they later hid and transported the hashish as well as the economic profits from the drug traffic.