Drug trafficking blow in A Pobra: 1,500 kilos of cocaine and four arrests linked to Os Fanchos clan
GRECO intercepted approximately 1,500 kg of cocaine in a coastal warehouse in A Pobra do Caramiñal and detained at least four people from the Os Fanchos clan.
Police operation in A Pobra: 1,500 kilos of cocaine seized and four arrests linked to Os Fanchos clan
El Correo Gallego reports that in the early hours of Saturday, officers from the National Police's Special Response Group against Organised Crime (GRECO) carried out an operation in A Pobra do Caramiñal, in the Barbanza region, with a preliminary result of approximately 1,500 kilos of cocaine seized and at least four people detained. The figures are still pending official confirmation.
The operation, which included uniformed officers and camouflaged vehicles, was deployed throughout the municipality's streets and concentrated particularly in the A Ribeiriña area and the surroundings of O Conchido beach, close to Boiro town hall. The officers remained in the area for most of the day carrying out several raids.
Cocaine ready for distribution in a first-line coastal warehouse
According to sources consulted by the media, the drug was stored in a small premises located on the coastline and apparently ready for distribution. The same sources indicate that those arrested would belong to the so-called Os Fanchos clan, a family group known for years by law enforcement for its alleged involvement in the introduction, custody and delivery of narcotics.
One of the clan's leaders was sentenced in February 2012 to nine years in prison for his participation in a kidnapping for ransom and torture of a former councillor from A Illa de Arousa in 2006. The sentence was subsequently reduced to four years after he confessed his involvement in the events. Officers from the National Police in Pontevedra and personnel from Ribeira police station also took part in the operation.
The operation remains ongoing, so both the number of those detained and the volume of drugs seized could increase in the coming hours.
Possible connection to the Muxía seizure of 10 August
Some sources suggest that this operation could be related to a previous action carried out on 10 August in Muxía, which resulted in 26 arrests—including a Civil Guard officer—and more than 1,600 kilos of cocaine intercepted during an unloading on Arnela beach. Among those arrested in that operation was a resident of A Pobra do Caramiñal.
Investigators are working on the hypothesis that the Muxía seizure was part of a total shipment of approximately 3,000 kilos, and that the vessel involved fled with part of the cargo. It is therefore not ruled out that the cocaine now found in A Pobra is part of that same batch, although the ongoing investigation will need to confirm this.
The Muxía operation was made possible thanks to an investigation begun in January 2025, following the discovery of a drug submarine in Camariñas estuary whose cargo was unloaded on Os Muiños beach. According to the Interior Ministry, it was possible to establish "the existence of a criminal organisation based in Costa da Morte", specialised in the introduction of large drug shipments at isolated points on the Galician coast that required special knowledge of the area's topography.
The detainees in Muxía, according to the ministry, formed part of a complex criminal structure that operated using high-speed vessels. Three of the 17 arrested in the operation were of South American origin.
Direct precedent: the drug submarine of September 2025 in A Pobra
This new blow is also added to the one carried out in September 2025 in the same municipality of A Pobra do Caramiñal, when GRECO intercepted more than 3,600 kilos of cocaine following an unloading on Cabío beach. According to investigations, the shipment reached the Galician coast aboard a drug submarine. That operation resulted in 17 arrests.
The accumulation of operations in the Barbanza region and on Costa da Morte within a matter of months reflects the intensity of cocaine trafficking on the Galician coast and the sustained pressure from law enforcement on the networks managing it.
Source: Google News ES — Crime (es)