Isha SesayTHIS is the moment a member of a drug trafficking group was busted by the police in Barcelona.
In a joint operation between the Guardia Civil and Policia Nacional, five alleged members of the criminal gang were brought down in the Catalan capital.
In the dramatic raid a huge haul of illegal substances was intercepted, including 100,000 ecstasy pills, 160 kilos of marijuana, 71 kilos of hashish, one kilo of ketamine and six kilos of methamphetamine.
Officers also seized four luxury cars, €150,000 in cash and a firearm with a defective serial number.
Investigators say the drugs were being packaged to be sent to the Balearic island to coincide with the opening of the summer season.
An investigation to bring down the smugglers began in March after police received a tip-off that criminal activity was taking place in an industrial warehouse in Sabadell.
Covert surveillance revealed that a ‘sophisticated’ criminal organisation was operating in the premises including an individual suspected of concealing narcotics in vehicles.
During the investigation, three phases were executed to detain all members of the criminal gang.
In the first phase, carried out on May 18, 150kg of marijuana were found hidden in a truck in La Junquera as it attempted to cross the French border, resulting in the arrest of two individuals.
In the second phase, carried out on June 5, the organisation’s alleged leader and his right hand man were arrested after renting a storage room in Barbera del Valles in Barcelona.
An inspection of the premises uncovered 10 kilos of marijuana, 71 kilos of hashish, 52 kilos of ecstasy, six kilos of methamphetamine and one kilo of ketamine.
With the kingpin in custody police proceeded to search his home address on June 6, with officers finding the enormous loot of narcotics.
The fifth member of the organisation was also arrested during the bust.
Investigators say the potential of the gang was ‘remarkable’, as in addition to handling many different types of drugs, they carried weapons and used innovate methods to modify their vehicles to evade the police.
As well as implementing sophisticated ‘double bottoms’ that used an electric motor, their vehicles were equipped with frequency inhibitors.
Ibiza’s connection to narcotics has long been publicised being one of the most popular clubbing hotspots in the world.
Just last year a three-year-old girl was left in critical condition after swallowing a discarded ecstasy pill left in a playground.
In one of the island’s many routine police controls in 2019, a driver also tested positive for cocaine, methamphetamine, opiates, cannabis and amphetamines.
A search of his vehicle uncovered a mammoth drug haul, including ecstasy pills, cocaine and ketamine.
It comes as the Balearic Islands have been gearing up to welcome back tourists, with the first of 10,600 German visitors arriving in the region yesterday morning.
