Alex Trelinski
POLICE and customs authorities have busted a Benidorm and Valencia area gang that imported large quantities of cocaine from South America.
Nine people have been arrested, with eight jailed, as the operation seized 334 kilos of the drug which was hidden inside heavy-duty industrial machinery.
It had arrived at the port of Valencia from Costa Rica and was taken to a warehouse in Onda(Castellon province), which was raided by the police.
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The stash was divided into 299 packs with three kilos of methamphetamine, €25,000 in cash, and nine vehicles also removed by authorities.
The Policia Nacional investigation started last May after a criminal gang that stole motorhomes with the aim of reselling them, led to officers discovering documents relating to drug trafficking.
Through international cooperation, a shipment of 13 kilos of cocaine destined for Spain was intercepted in Columbia.
In December, two containers from Costa Rica arrived at Valencia, directly linked to the gang that was being investigated.
After the cache was seized, six raids were carried out in Benidorm and La Nucia(Alicante province) as well as the Valencian towns of El Puig de Santa Maria and Benetusser.
That led to the arrest of nine people on drug trafficking charges and belonging to a criminal organisation.
One of those investigated used false Portuguese documentation which he used since 2019 to set up a new identity and new life.
He had previously been given prison sentence by the National Court for drug trafficking.
More arrests are not ruled out as police search for a man who was not at his La Nucia home during their raids.
