Dilip Kuner
A GANG that pretended to be police to rob drug smugglers at gunpoint has been busted on the Costa del Sol in Spain.
Heavily armed National Police and Guardia Civil raided two houses in Estepona and one in Mijas before making 10 arrests – nine in Estepona and Marbella and one in Ubrique (Cadiz).
The operation, dubbed ‘Sirena 21’, was launched after police sources pointed to a criminal organisation for being responsible for a series of violent robberies involving ‘military’ firearms and targeting drugs gangs in Malaga and Cadiz.
The investigation started in June 2021 and led them to focus on the Eastern European ringleader of the gang who lived in Estepona.
Police say he used several false identities and frequently changed his appearance by dying his hair, growing a beard and changing his hair cuts.
The investigation then identified different members of the gang responsible for transportation, logistics and carrying out the robberies themselves.
Once enough evidence was collected, police moved in and arrested eight men and two women who have been charged with belonging to a criminal organisation, drug trafficking, false documentation, theft of a motor vehicle and illegal possession of weapons.
At the time of his arrest the leader of the gang was carrying a pistol ready to open fire.
Police seized 70 kilos of hashish, 1.6 kilos of hashish, five vehicles – two of them stolen – stolen car registration plates, weapons, ammunition and false identity documents.
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