Laurence Dollimore
HE was known as the ‘King of the Port’ in Algeciras.
Even drug traffickers feared him, labelling him ‘one of the most violent and dangerous people’ in the Campo de Gibraltar.
But now, after decades of facilitating narcotic shipments at one of the country’s busiest ports, he has finally been brought down.
Known only as J.G.M, the 54-year-old began working for the cartels as a minor, acting as a police lookout for hashish and tobacco smugglers.
He worked his way up the criminal ladder to become the head of an organisation responsible for organising the arrival and departures of huge cocaine shipments at the Algeciras docks.
While he was arrested several times throughout his career, nothing quite stuck and his run ins with the law only made him more determined.
He soon became the man drug cartels turned to to arrange and facilitate lucrative drug shipments.
He was arrested today as part of Operation Estratum, carried out by the UCO, a specialised narcotics arm of the Guardia Civil.
Two others were also cuffed, including his 32-year-old son, who had been brought into the family business.
It comes after 21 individuals, including 10 port workers, were arrested last summer after being caught attempting to smuggle 480 kilos of cocaine.
It was from there that investigators honed in on J.G.M.
He had been present in several of the meetings while surveillance heard traffickers refer to him as ‘one of the key traffickers in Algeciras’ and ‘one of the most violent and dangerous people in the Campo de Gibraltar.’
In the latest raid, Guardia Civil have seized €710,000 cash in €50 notes from J.G.M’s home.
The loot was found mostly in shoe boxes and hidden inside a pool table.
Some 13 properties have also been seized around the Campo de Gibraltar while 14 bank accounts have been frozen, reportedly containing ‘a significant sum of money.’
Added to the seized goods is a €100,000 yacht recently bought by J.G.M and 11 luxury vehicles, including SUVs and a motorhome.
The arrest of the King of the Port has been described as ‘historical’.
