A WOMEN’S hairdresser has been exposed as the lynchpin of a drug trafficking gang operating across the Marina Alta area of the Costa Blanca.
The woman used her business in Ondara to launder all the proceeds made from the narcotic sales.
Her boyfriend was in charge of distributing the drugs in towns such as Pego, Pedreguer, Jalon, Denia, Orba, Vergel and Beniarbeig.
At the lower rung of the operation, three men and a woman then sold the drugs to customers.
The Spanish couple behind the trafficking scheme lived in a remote rural area of Beniarbeig and even constructed a small illegal bunker at their property with a sophisticated video security system to monitor any unwanted visitors.
All six gang members have been arrested by the Guardia Civil who seized cash, narcotics and weapons including two sawn-off shotguns, an assortment of guns, a large machete, and a metal baseball-style bat.
Raids were carried out at the Beniarbeig home in addition to El Verger and Benimeli, as well as the Ondara hairdressing salon.
The Guardia probe started in February when they detected an increase in cocaine consumption among small-scale consumers.
All of the detainees had prior drug convictions and were bailed by a Denia court.
The Guardia Civil described the gang’s arrest as a ‘major blow against drug sales in Alicante province’.
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