Spanish Civil Guard detains 7 people in two operations against drug trafficking and seizes more than two tons of hashish
The Civil Guard, in two operations, has dismantled two European organizations, one Dutch and the other French, that intended to transport hashish and marijuana to Europe, arresting 7 people and seizing 2,065 kilograms of hashish, 140 kilograms of marijuana, and intervened two trucks, three vans and two passenger cars, as well as communication and computer equipment.
Operation “Conga”
The Civil Guard, in collaboration with the Dutch Police, detected two people, supposedly members of a Dutch criminal organization, who were in charge of transporting drugs from Spain to other European countries, mainly the Netherlands. Civil Guard agents belonging to OCON-SUR began efforts to locate these people, managing to locate them in a hotel in Benalmádena (Malaga). They frequented a warehouse located in the Viso industrial estate in Malaga and the agents detected that they took many security measures for their trips, to avoid the police presence, a common procedure used by these groups linked to drug trafficking. Following the surveillance of the industrial warehouse by the agents, they detected a palletized shipment from an industrial air conditioning machine, which was picked up days later by a trailer-type truck from an international transport company. Once the truck was intercepted and the load was checked, locating inside the industrial air conditioning machine 5 burlap bales, containing 175 kilograms of hashish, for which the truck driver and the two of them were arrested. Dutch citizens charged with an alleged drug trafficking crime. In the warehouse register, another pallet would be located with another device equal to the one transported in the truck, the interior of the machine being emptied, ready to be used for the same purpose. Days later, a fourth person, of Spanish origin, was also arrested, allegedly acting as an intermediary for the Dutch organization and the Moroccan producer.
Operation “Rose”
The Civil Guard detected suspicious movements of cargo vehicles in a disused warehouse in the El Viso industrial estate in Malaga, where they also located and identified three people who operated in said industrial warehouse and who had a history of drug trafficking in France. After subjecting the industrial warehouse to surveillance, the agents in charge of the operation detected how this organization was using a trailer-type truck to transport the drugs and that they were preparing a shipment. In the registry of the ship, the Civil Guard located 5 pallets with boxes of lettuce that were in a cold room that were being used to hide the hashish. 140 hermetic bags were located with an approximate weight of 1,890 kilograms of hashish and 140 kilograms of marijuana. There is also a portable X-ray device in the warehouse, as well as numerous telephone terminals and other electronic devices to evade police control.
Same modus operandi
Both organizations had in common that they operated from the coast of Malaga and accumulated illicit merchandise in nurseries, located in safe houses and industrial warehouses, where they prepared them for shipment to Europe. Its members stay in isolated urbanizations, where they reside on a rental basis for short stays and also in hotels, to try to go unnoticed by pretending to be a tourist or commercial activity, while conducting negotiations with other organizations for the purchase of drug shipments and transportation. Of the same. Shipping to third countries is done by:
- the GO FAST method, in which they use very powerful vehicles with a large load capacity, preceded by one or more shuttle vehicles, to warn of the police presence.
- Use of international transport logistics platforms, where the narcotic substance is hidden and camouflaged in a shipment of cargo that appears legal.
