British drugs gang caught carrying 1,200 kilos of hashish in Spain
The traffickers were British and were transporting the drugs in large trucks in the area of Marbella and Elche in the south of Spain
đźš©Incautados a una organización dedicada al tráfico internacional de #drogas 1.200 kg de #hachís ocultos en bidones
— Policía Nacional (@policia) November 16, 2024
🚔7 detenidos en #Marbella y #Elche
👉Organización integrada por ciudadanos #británicos
Registros en una finca de #Elche que la organización utilizaba como… pic.twitter.com/TRd0ggi29A
The National Police of Spain, in collaboration with the British NCA, have caught an international criminal organisation in Marbella (Málaga) and Elche (Alicante). The international drug gang were caught with 1,200 kilos of hashish secretly hidden in drums of sand that were intended for construction work. The drugs, when they were found, were in large, heavy-duty trucks that are commonly used in construction work.
During the operation, seven British citizens who were members of the international organisation were arrested. The gang was using large-capacity plastic containers filled with building materials to hide their product and transport it around countries.
After the arrest were made there was a search carried out on a property in Elche. The property was used by the organisation as a ‘nursery’, where the narcotic substance was found and grown. Three further houses were searched in Marbella and Fuengirola, where ‘samples’ of hashish with the same anagrams as the drug found in the warehouse were seized. The connection found between the drugs allowed the connection between the properties.
The investigation into the international criminal organisation began last April when agents learned that this group of British citizens was engaged in large-scale international drug trafficking, using heavy trucks. In May of this year, investigators located one of the vehicles used and found that it was registered in the name of the company of those arrested.
The police then tracked down the property where the trucks were registered and found that the illegal activity was shrouded in a legal business front. When the police went to check out the location they found a large amount of civil engineering material inside. At this location it was possible to verify that there was a continuous movement of this merchandise stacked on pallets, such as paving stones, drums, polyethylene tubes and sandbags.
Investigators then discovered intense activity by the members of the criminal organisation inside the warehouse, and learnt that they could be planning to introduce a large batch of narcotic substances into Spain.
Therefore, an operation was launched by the authorities, to search the warehouse where all the activity of the group was being carried out. Upon searching the warehouse the agents located 1,200 kilos of hashish and arrested four members of the organisation. They found in their investigation batches of the drugs arranged in burlap bales and smaller packages.
As the search was taking place in that warehouse in Alicante, three other suspects were arrested in the towns of Marbella and Fuengirola (Málaga).
Also found in the investigation into the houses was more than 63,000 euros in cash, five passenger cars and a heavy-duty truck, electronic devices such as a frequency detector, a beacon, two computers, mobile phones, a GPS navigator and four walkie-talkies.
Bank accounts also belonging to the group were seized and inside of the bank accounts more than 40,000 euros was blocked from being by the police authorities.
All of the men belonging to this criminal gang and international organisation have been remanded in custody at this time.
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Image: Polcia Nacional and National Crime Agency
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