DrugsNews

Spanish Civil Guard dismantles an organization dedicated to drug trafficking led by “El Tapi”

The Civil Guard has dismantled a criminal organization dedicated to drug trafficking, intervening 8,665 kilos of hashish, a real firearm, 6 semi-rigid inflatable boats and proceeding to arrest 46 people who are accused of drug trafficking crimes, membership a criminal organization and money laundering. 

The ASGARD operation has been carried out by the Civil Guard of the Algeciras Command and the Coordination Body against Drug Trafficking (OCON-SUR), led by the Court of Instance and Instruction no. 1 in Estepona (Málaga), and has been developed in the provinces of Cádiz, Málaga, Almería, Murcia, Barcelona and in the City of Ceuta.From the beginning of the investigations, the agents were able to verify first-hand that they were in front of a perfectly structured organization, in which the members adopted high security measures, both when communicating and when making trips to supply. and distribution of narcotic substances.  This organization, which had a large logistical capacity and a high and continuous criminal activity, was based mainly in the area of ​​the Costa del Sol (Malaga), although, throughout the investigation, the great geographical mobility of its members, having proven their participation in numerous drug trafficking crimes carried out on the Costa del Sol, Campo de Gibraltar, Almería and Huelva. For the execution of their illicit actions related to drug trafficking, they had logistical support in the province of Almería that provided them with the necessary infrastructure to store and launch the semi-rigid inflatable boats that were later used to transport the hashish bales from Morocco to the Spanish coasts. The criminal organization used several warehouses located in industrial estates of Almería, Murcia and Barcelona for the logistical tasks of guarding and custody of the semi-rigid inflatable boats and the supply of the fuel bottles used by them. Throughout the investigation, transfers of a large number of these vessels have been observed. Their logistical capacity allowed them to even reach Portugal, where some of their members traveled to carry out activities necessary for the subsequent drug trafficking, collaboration with the Judicial Police of Portugal being key to the investigation. 

Money laundering crime

 Related to the ASGARD operation and under the direction of the Court of First Instance and Instruction no. 4 of Ceuta, the Civil Guard was investigating in parallel – operation COLLAR – a structure of money laundering of the proceeds from drug trafficking in which several of those now detained participated. Once the actions had been coordinated with the two Courts, it was decided to carry out a joint exploitation of them. The investigation of the crime of money laundering has had the support of the Office of Asset Recovery and Management (ORGA), whose role has been fundamental in the property investigation, locating assets on behalf of those investigated and others on the that there are indications of having concealed their beneficial ownership. During the aforementioned money laundering investigation, laundered movable and real estate assets of an approximate value of 3 million euros have been discovered. On the other hand, blocked movable and immovable property is valued at approximately € 1,500,000. 

“El Tapi”, an elusive leader 

 The start of the proceedings was triggered by the arrest of the leader of the organization under investigation, known by the alias of “El Tapi”, currently considered one of the leading figures in drug trafficking, who organized and directed the transport of hashish from the shores of Morocco to the Andalusian coast. At 33 years old, “El Tapi” has a long criminal record in which he has accumulated numerous pending cases for drug trafficking, a fact that has given him great prestige within this type of organization. He was very elusive during the development of the investigation, and even had several members of his organization who were in charge of providing security and cover. He was considered one of the main objectives of the Civil Guard in its fight against drug trafficking in the Campo de Gibraltar. In the exploitation of both operations, which has been carried out since last Monday, there has been, among others, the support of the Citizen Security Units (USECIC) of the affected Comandantes, Rapid Action Group (GAR) and Agrupación de Reserve and Security (ARS).