Galician speedboat gang dismantled with 1,410 kg of cocaine from Balkan Cartel
Police dismantled the Os Fanchos group in A Pobra do Caramiñal after seizing a shipment hidden in a shed. Three detained, including the leader, are already in prison.
Os Fanchos gang dismantled in A Coruña with 1,410 kilos of cocaine destined for central Europe
Three suspected members of a Galician speedboat gang have been remanded in custody following the seizure of 1,410 kilos of cocaine hidden in a shed near O Conchido beach in A Pobra do Caramiñal (A Coruña). According to El País, the drugs were destined for the so-called Balkan Cartel, a powerful distribution network operating in central Europe.
The operation, centred in the north of Arousa estuary, was carried out last Saturday by the Greco Galicia Unit of the Central Drug Squad, in collaboration with the United States anti-drug agency (DEA). Its objective was to prevent the consignment from leaving Galicia and reaching the central European market.
The gang leader, identified as Rafael Rivas Gey
Police identify Rafael Rivas Gey as the head of the group, attributing to him the coordination of the receipt and custody of the shipment. Two collaborators were detained alongside him: one of Croatian nationality, tasked with supervising delivery of the consignment to its final recipients, according to Interior Ministry sources.
The final phase of the operation began on 20 August, when officers received notice that two vessels had collected a substantial shipment on the high seas to land it on a beach in A Pobra do Caramiñal. From that point on, investigators focused their surveillance on Rivas as the suspected coordinator of the landing.
Nocturnal movements alerted investigators
On the Friday before the detention, at 06.55 hours, officers observed a vehicle arriving at Rivas's residence. A person left the dwelling with a backpack and got into the car, whose occupants took numerous measures to attempt to evade police surveillance.
During the early morning of 22 August, Rivas and two other men made several trips from his residence to the shed located in front of his property, very close to the beach. Investigators observed the three individuals beginning to move heavy packages towards another property in the same municipality. Based on the characteristics of the packages and the manner in which they were handled, officers suspected they might be cocaine.
Searches, heroin and cash
Given the evidence of the transfer, the three individuals were detained simultaneously and the drugs were seized. Subsequently, officers conducted searches at the suspected leader's residence, at the shed and at the third property to which the packages had been moved.
In addition to the 1,410 kilos of cocaine, the searches uncovered 100 grams of heroin, cash and other items of interest to the investigation. The detained were brought before a judge as suspected perpetrators of the offences of membership of a criminal organisation and drug trafficking. After giving a statement on Monday, the judge ordered their remand in custody.
Galician speedboat gangs at the service of international networks
The case again highlights the role of Galician speedboat gangs in the cocaine supply chain to Europe. These groups act as specialist service companies: they collect the packages on the high seas, unload them on shore and keep custody of them until the receiving cells—in this case, one linked to the Balkan Cartel—come to collect them.
The DEA's collaboration with Spanish anti-drug units proved crucial in locating the shipment before it left Galicia.
Source: El País