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Alejandro Hernández
Alicante
Viernes, 27 de diciembre 2024, 07:25
The province of Alicante is a strategic hub for drug traffickers. In fact, it ranks as the fourth region in Spain with the highest number of drug trafficking offences recorded in the first quarter of 2024, following Barcelona, Valencia, and Malaga, according to data from the Ministry of the Interior's Crime Balance.
The National Police, Civil Guard, and the Customs Surveillance Service of the Tax Agency are combating drug networks trafficking illicit substances throughout the Alicante province by land, sea, and air.
TodoAlicante highlights three of the most significant drug trafficking busts of the year in the Alicante regions, including the arrest of the leader of the dangerous Sinaloa cartel in Spain, the largest network of 'narco-sailors' in the world moving up to a kilo of cocaine per trip, and the fruit-selling couple from El Campello behind the largest cocaine shipment in the history of our country.
Last May, the National Police discovered that the head of the Sinaloa cartel—a dominant force in global methamphetamine distribution—dismantled in Spain, was residing in a villa in Villena, where the main synthetic drug supply point in Europe was hidden.
In the Alicante municipality residence, investigators seized 1,500 kilos of methamphetamine and arrested the Mexican national, considered the Sinaloa cartel's link in Spain. The historic operation resulted in the seizure of a total of 1,800 kilos of this narcotic, valued at "several tens of millions of euros," marking the largest seizure in our country and the second largest in Europe, according to police sources.
The investigation began in early 2023 after detecting 24 kilos of 'coke' hidden in two washing machines in Tenerife. The inquiries focused on identifying the senders, revealing that it was conducted through a logistics company located in the southern area of Madrid, where members of the criminal network traveled to make certain shipments hidden in appliances.
With the gathered intelligence, on May 6th, agents detected a van with which the 'narco-transporters' intended to move part of the narcotic, specifically 224 kilos, for which they had installed a complex hydraulic system to conceal the drug in the vehicle's floor.
It was this van that led the agents to the Villena villa, with the intervention of the GOES (Special Operations Groups) specialists. During the search, officers seized the other 1,500 kilos of methamphetamine and apprehended the Mexican national, considered the Sinaloa cartel's link sent to Spain.
An international anti-drug operation during 2024 dismantled the largest network of 'narco-sailors' in the world, which used several Spanish provinces, including Alicante, as a logistical point before setting sail to South America. The network had the vessels ready, awaiting orders from 'The Professor' and his lieutenant to load the drug, up to a tonne of cocaine per trip, according to investigation sources.
The operation, involving 11 countries and spanning four years, resulted in 50 arrests and the seizure of 1,500 kilos of cocaine, eight vessels, 36 vehicles, and over 85 mobile phones. The same sources indicate that the criminal network relied on a spiritual healer for "blessing" and success in their cocaine transport operations between South America and Spain.
During the operation, 28 searches were conducted in various provinces of Spain—two in Alicante—resulting in the arrest of 26 drug traffickers. Among those arrested was a former bank and armored van robber who had served 15 years in prison for violent crimes of this nature and who, for the past year, had joined the criminal group due to his criminal experience and the respect he commanded from Eastern European mafias, according to information revealed by investigators.
The latest major blow against drug trafficking in the province of Alicante is linked to the seizure—in the port of Algeciras—of the largest 'coke' stash ever intercepted in Spain and the arrest of Óscar Sánchez Gil, the former head of the Economic and Fiscal Crime Unit (UDEF) in Madrid, currently imprisoned in Estremera prison for allegedly laundering money obtained from illicit operations related to drug networks.
Miguel and his wife, Vilma, wanted after this investigation, were an ordinary couple. They lived quietly in El Campello and ran the company Abadix Fruits SL, supposedly dedicated to importing tropical fruits from Brazil, Ecuador, and Panama. But in reality, according to police investigations, they were infallible drug traffickers dealing on a large scale, who have been seized with the largest cocaine stash in Spain's history and the second largest in Europe, 13 tonnes, with an estimated market value of around 800 million euros. Now the police are tracking them to close the circle of 'Operation Machala'.
The company, established on January 4, 2018, took two years to start its operations. By 2021, it had imported over 900 containers to Spain, supposedly loaded with tropical fruits. In just two years, the company almost increased its turnover tenfold, from around 600,000 euros in 2021 to 5.6 million in 2023, according to data from the Commercial Register.
The National Police and the Customs Surveillance Service of the Tax Agency had been monitoring the Alicante-based company run by the couple for four years, which, according to investigation sources, had fully integrated into Alicante's social life, even sponsoring a race in the city of Alicante.
Investigators closely followed their movements, connections, routes used, and countries with which they closed deals. The cover was almost perfect, but it cracked when agents began noticing discrepancies, such as the company not having a warehouse for the goods despite large revenues. Authorities monitored up to 200 containers of the front company at the port of Algeciras as a routine, without raising suspicion.
During the surveillance, officers discovered that the Alicante company had stopped doing business with Panama and Costa Rica and had focused on Ecuador. Specifically, with a distributor who, according to the investigations, was already listed in customs and police databases for having a criminal record for drug trafficking.
On October 14, after four years and more than 200 secret inspections, authorities executed the operation. The container from the Ecuadorian exporter from Guayaquil was marked. It was time. The Customs Surveillance Service's 'Medusa' mobile scanner showed a shipment of bananas, but also another that appeared to be packages.
Officers intervened and proceeded to manually open the container. Inside, they found 11,000 bricks of cocaine in boxes identical to the bananas surrounding them, as a screen. In total: 13,062 kilos. Behind this massive shipment was the notorious Balkan cartel, a network of drug traffickers responsible for much of the cocaine that arrives and is distributed throughout Europe.
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