Laurence Crumbie
A JOINT operation coordinated by Eurojust and Europol has led to the dismantling of a criminal organisation that trafficked marijuana and hashish from Spain to several European countries.
Spanish police initiated the investigation in September 2019 after obtaining information on a group based in Malaga province which they suspected of transporting drugs to Poland.
This led to the uncovering of Polish drug lords who were sitting comfy in a luxury urbanisation in Estepona.
It soon turned out, however, that these were not the only trafficking top dogs enjoying a life of crime in Andalucia, as the police managed to verify links to various mafia organisations, which were using Granada as the main supply point for marijuana.
Realising the scale of the illicit operation, the cops joined forces with the Special Division for Drug Trafficking and Organised Crime of the Polish Police (CBSP) – which is when the structure of the drug ring began to unravel.
The Spanish-Polish collaboration identified a Polish narcotrafficker as the main man, with important players from Bulgaria, Morocco and Spain serving as his ‘lieutenants’.
The organisation had numerous plantations in houses and warehouses across Cadiz, Malaga and Valencia and used sophisticated double bottoms made in trucks, cars and buses to smuggle its contraband.
In total, the authorities arrested 110 individuals and seized 1.5 tons of vacuum-packed cannabis buds, more than 20,000 marijuana plants, 91kg of hashish, and 43kg of cocaine.
More than half a million euros in cash, eight firearms, various vehicles, and five million euros’ worth of moveable and immoveable property were also seized.
