James Warren
POLICE have blown apart one of Europe’s largest synthetic drug networks with bases across Spain, including Seville and Malaga.
After a year long investigation, coined Operation ‘Latrans-Girasol-Muhlberg‘, Guardia Civil and Policia Nacional officers took down the multinational network that specialised in the production of crystal meth, speed, amphetamine and ecstasy.
11 people have been arrested so far from Spain, Columbia, Italy, Romania and the Netherlands in raids on properties in Malaga, Seville and Ibiza as well as its headquarters in Barcelona.
As a result of the raids, police have also seized a total of 827,000 ecstasy tablets, 76 kilograms of speed, 2,000 doses of LSD, 39.5kilograms of crystal meth and 217 litres of liquid amphetamine.
Alongside the drugs, two firearms, two mortar shells, a machete, nine high-end vehicles and €267,000 were also confiscated.
Investigations revealed that the network was funded by exporting vast amounts of marijuana and hashish to the Netherlands and the UK.
The drugs were hidden in electrical components of classic cars, then once they reached their destination the drugs were removed and replaced with the synthetic drugs and returned to Spain.
A sophisticated ‘laboratory’ was set up in Barcelona that converted the synthetic bases into methamphetamine, MDMA and Speed before distributing across Spain.
The mammoth haul is one of the largest ever to take place in Europe in the past 20 years.
According to a police statement, “It is worth noting that of all the substances seized, the 217 litres of liquid amphetamine would – had it been processed in the organisation’s Barcelona laboratories – have produced 738kg of speed, making it the biggest ever amphetamine seizure in Spain,”
