The Algeciras Section of the Provincial Court of Cádiz hosted on Monday the start of the macro-trial against the Los Castañas clan, which initially sat on the bench more than 150 defendants for drug trafficking. Of the total of the defendants, six have been declared in absentia by not appearing at the judicial appointment, indicating the Prosecutor’s Office the search and imprisonment for one of them.
Likewise, the Prosecutor’s Office has withdrawn the accusation against 20 of those mentioned, who have left the room after the charges of which they were accused were withdrawn. On the other hand, 62 of the defendants -three of them currently in prison- have reached an agreement in accordance with the Prosecutor’s Office, acknowledging the facts and agreeing to a sentence that will be publicly known at the end of the hearing.
Thus, once the court has been formed and all parties have been made aware of the absences, withdrawal of charges and conformity, the session has been adjourned until this Tuesday, where the previous issues of the case being judged will be presented, the completion of which is scheduled In principle, by the end of June.
It should be remembered that the operation that gave rise to this case, called Dismantle, was carried out by the Civil Guard between February and September 2020, the date from which one of the two alleged leaders of the Castañas, who appears in the cause as allegedly responsible for maintaining contact with members of the criminal structures of Moroccan origin.
To this end, the Anti-Drug Prosecutor’s Office, after serving two years in pretrial detention, requested last September an extension for his stay in prison until the trial for the alleged clan leader was held, alleging the dangerousness of the crimes, recidivism and the risk on the run Due to the high number of defendants, the Ministry of Justice, Local Administration and Public Function has adapted the courtrooms of the Provincial Court of Algeciras, expanding the platform for defense in the courtroom on the first floor, which will house the court , prosecutors and lawyers of the different parties as well as the majority of the defendants.
