Simon Wade
TEN ‘dangerous criminals’ have busted an international drug smuggling operation involving the Policia Nacional, Europol, the DEA and Colombian Police.
The group had been in operation for ‘several years’ according to Europol, operating in Galicia, Madrid and Alicante.
An hotel was used as their base, along with a car workshop where ten luxury vehicles were also seized.
In total, 1,300 kilos of Colombian cocaine was discovered in 25 huge black bags, meant for distribution throughout Spain.
On average, each bag of the narcotic would weigh over eight stones.
A cash haul of €550,000 was also found.
Investigations had been ongoing for 18 months after agents detected the gang along with Colombian authorities.
The gang of Spanish nationals all had previous records for murder, violent robbery, fraud and money laundering – with some having in excess of 50 convictions.
Five were arrested at the Spanish North Sea port of Pontvedra as they were boarding a ship used to smuggle the drugs, whilst the remainder were detained in Madrid.
It is believed that most meetings between the traffickers were held in the capital, before they moved to locations in Galicia and Alicante.
