Anti-drugs operation dismantles criminal network in the Levant: 28 arrests and half a million euros seized
A National Police operation has broken up a gang involved in drug trafficking in Valencia, Alicante and Murcia. The seized material includes dozens of kilos of cocaine and MDMA, as well as weapons and numerous vehicles with hidden compartments.
Anti-drugs operation dismantles criminal network in the Levant: 28 arrests and half a million euros seized
A large-scale operation deployed by the National Police has successfully dismantled a gang involved in drug trafficking across three provinces in the south-eastern peninsula. The operation resulted in nearly thirty people being arrested and the seizure of a significant haul of substances.
The investigation began when investigators in Valencia obtained leads about a woman based in Torrent who could be coordinating illicit activities. After several weeks of surveillance, officers confirmed that her residence received a constant flow of visits from individuals known in the criminal underworld.
One of the most significant contacts turned out to be a man resident in Murcia who operated as a key partner within the structure. He had his own distribution network to get the goods to the final points of sale.
Little by little, the investigators unravelled the entire organisation. They identified two couriers living in El Puig de Santa María and Benisa, respectively, who travelled regularly across different areas of Spain to transport narcotics and collect money from transactions.
The main recipients of the substance were the individual based in Murcia and a businessman in the nightlife entertainment sector, owner of several establishments in the Valencian capital. At the top of the pyramid was a citizen with considerable real estate holdings and a high purchasing power, who appeared to have been acting as the main supplier of cocaine.
The final phase of the operation consisted of fourteen coordinated raids on homes spread across Valencia, Alicante and Murcia. During these searches, officers found thirty kilos of cocaine, twelve kilos of powdered ecstasy, more than seven hundred thousand euros in notes, five pistols, nine-millimetre ammunition, a silver ingot and twenty-one cars.
Some of the vehicles seized had secretly constructed compartments built by hand, known as "caletas". In one of these hiding places, located in a vehicle used by the group's leader, four hundred thousand euros were discovered. Meanwhile, in a motorbike belonging to the nightlife businessman, more than one hundred thousand euros were hidden.
After the arrest of the last individuals belonging to the group's top leadership, the total count reached twenty-eight arrested. All were brought before the courts as alleged members of a criminal association, dealers in prohibited substances, illegal possession of weapons and falsification of official documents. The judicial authority ordered pre-trial imprisonment for six of them.
_Information from El Debate_
Source: Google News ES — Crime (es)