John Culatto
POLICE seized 68 kilos of very pure cocaine in the Andalucia province of Cadiz and arrested 16 people after tracking down a dealer that operated out of a motorcycle garage.
The police operation led to raids across Cadiz, in Seville and as far as Bilbao where detectives believe the drug was first imported from South America.
Police first started to get suspicious about the mechanic that used to service their own motorcycles after he started to live more luxuriously than his profession could afford.
His garage was located opposite the police station and he had always kept good relations with the officers.
It was not long before investigators noticed that some of the top drug barons of the area were starting to visit the mechanic.
But rather than swoop early, investigators realised that in order to find who was behind the cocaine, they had to watch the mechanic very closely.
“We found a more powerful organization, based in Jerez directed by a renowned drug trafficker who dominated the distribution of cocaine sales in the [Cadiz] Bay ,” Ignacio Vega, head of the Anti-drug trafficking group (Udyco) said.
Finally, they tracked down a van which was driving down from Bilbao with 60 kilos in a hidden compartment.
That led to a host of raids that bumped up that number to 68 kilos plus ten kilos more of hashish.
The officers also found €40,000 in cash and impounded 12 vehicles as part of the searches carried out.
Forensic teams found the cocaine was between 80 to 90% pure, meaning that it could have fetched an even higher value once dealers cut it up further.
But with cocaine valued at about €80 a gram in Spain, the 68 kilos could have reached €5.5 million on the street.
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