The Civil Guard has dismantled a criminal network accused of trying to introduce more than 6.5 tons of cocaine from South America hidden in banana containers through the port of Algeciras (Cádiz) in an operation that has resulted in 13 arrests.
As reported by the Armed Institute in a statement, during the so-called ‘Squid’ operation, searches were carried out at various homes in Algeciras, Málaga and Castellar de la Frontera (Cádiz) and in two industrial warehouses in Algeciras and Antequera (Málaga) where Around a million and a half euros in cash, several vehicles, watches of high economic value and a large number of electronic devices used by the organization have been seized to hinder a possible police investigation.
The operation began last October 2022 when investigators detected a criminal organization, whose head is considered one of the main cocaine drug traffickers in Spain based in Malaga. His lieutenant in Campo de Gibraltar belonged to a well-known family that resides in the town of Castellar de la Frontera and used a frozen fish wholesale company in Algeciras to mask the income obtained from his illegal activity.
According to the Civil Guard, the organization introduced large quantities of cocaine by sea containers from South America and tried to obtain the “connivance of public officials” to be able to introduce the cocaine shipments safely.
The modus operandi consisted of transporting consignments of cocaine in banana containers, coming from Colombia and Ecuador, to the port of Algeciras. Once it was extracted from the port facilities and on its way to the legal destination, it was diverted to a nursery ship where the pallets containing the cocaine were replaced by identical ones with legal merchandise of bananas.
In December, the organization used a container of bananas that left from the port of Turbo (Colombia) with its final destination Algeciras. However, during the transit of the ship in the port of Cartagena (Colombia), the container was inspected by the authorities of that country, who seized 3,000 cocaine pills of approximately one kilo each.
In a second attempt, the drug traffickers tried to send another consignment of cocaine from the port of Cartagena to the port of Vigo. The organization’s intention was to extract the cocaine once the container arrived at the port of Algeciras and was transferred to a nursery ship nearby. This second shipment was frustrated again by the Colombian authorities, who seized 1,250 kilograms of the same substance in the port of Cartagena.
During the month of May, with more than four tons of cocaine seized by the police authorities, the organization insisted on introducing the cocaine through the port of Algeciras with a new shipment from the port of Guayaquil (Ecuador) to avoid another possible seizure. In colombia. Upon the arrival of the container in Algeciras, the investigators verified how a truck driver belonging to the organization extracted it and left the port area, heading towards a warehouse located in an industrial estate in Antequera (Málaga).
Before the illegal merchandise was unloaded, the agents entered the ship where they intervened a total of 2,296 kilograms of cocaine, hidden between banana pallets and arrested seven people. The investigators also carried out several entries and searches at the homes of the main members of the organization, where they seized around one and a half million euros in cash, different high-end vehicles, watches of high economic value, as well as a large amount of electronic devices to hinder a possible police investigation.
As a result of this operation, more than 6,500 kilograms of cocaine have been seized, whose value in the illicit market amounts to more than 233 million euros, and almost one and a half million euros in cash. The investigation has been carried out by the Algeciras Command with the collaboration of the Central Operative Unit of the Civil Guard (UCO) and Europol.
Other agencies have also participated, such as the Custom Border Protection of the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Anti-Narcotics Directorate of the Colombian National Police (DIRAN) and Latvian authorities. Lastly, during the exploitation phase, there was the support of the Special Intervention Unit (UEI) and the Rapid Action Group (GAR) of the Civil Guard, for the practice of entering and searching homes and warehouses.
