Agents of the National Police have dismantled in the province of Valencia one of the “most active” criminal organizations of Albanian origin allegedly dedicated to international cocaine trafficking in the east of the Peninsula. More than 820 kilograms of cocaine have been seized and 17 people have been arrested, including the leader of the group, known to agents because of his contacts in Latin America, Europe and Dubai.
In the eight entries and searches carried out, 226,500 euros in cash, three GPS electronic device detection devices, 13 vehicles, five of them with double bottoms, and two jammers, among other effects, have also been seized. The investigation has had the collaboration of the Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), as reported by the National Police in a statement.
The Alianza-Colaborazione operation has been extended for 12 months and three execution phases have been carried out. The investigation began in early 2023 after learning of the existence of a criminal organization that, led by Albanians based in Valencia, was dedicated to large-scale cocaine trafficking and money laundering.
At first, the Police have fully identified the leader of the organization, who managed several companies with headquarters in Spain. This person used high-end vehicles to travel around him.
The investigators have also identified the other members of the criminal network, which has allowed them to “concrete” its structure and detect several high-end homes and industrial warehouses in various parts of the province of Valencia that the organization had at its disposal.
In addition, they have located a car wash used by the criminal network as a “neural point”, where the main meetings were held to distribute functions and give instructions to the members of the group.
In the first phase, in July of last year, investigators detected two vehicles belonging to the organization in L’Eliana. After leaving the area, both vehicles were intercepted and the agents verified that they were carrying ‘caletas’ that contained 100 packages of cocaine inside.
The agents arrested the two drivers who, “with influence” in the area of ??the Region of Murcia, performed the function of ‘couriers’ to make trips and deliver the narcotic substance to other drug trafficking groups.
In a second phase, in September, another vehicle of the criminal group was intercepted after fleeing at high speed and running over the agents, being located a few kilometers away where it had been abandoned with 50 kilograms of cocaine inside. The police action caused the organization to paralyze illicit activities as a security measure to carry out a “restructuring.”
Already in a third phase, this past January, in Benicàssim (Castellón), the agents detected a van and a vehicle in a “suspicious attitude” linked to the investigated organization. The agents began following and intercepted both vehicles. The van fled on the outskirts of Dénia, with the resulting “serious risk” for road users.
After the chase, the agents arrested the driver of the van when he tried to run away and located 320 kilograms of cocaine hidden in cardboard boxes inside. At the same time, they also arrested the two occupants of the other car used as a shuttle. At the same time, in Benicàssim, the two members of the organization who had delivered the seized drugs were arrested.
In the “final exploitation” of the operation, eight searches were carried out at the homes and places used by the members of the network. In one of these homes they have seized 350 kilograms of narcotic substance and more than 200,000 euros in cash in another search.
Likewise, various electronic devices available to members of the group have been seized, such as “advanced” GPS and microphone jammers to avoid tracking and listening devices, a sign of the “high level of sophistication” of the criminal organization.
The detainees have been brought before the court, which has ordered the imprisonment of all of them. In addition, investigators have also arrested the members of the organization in charge of providing the logistics and infrastructure necessary for the development of the illicit activity, who managed the rental contracts of the different controlled properties.
The National Police has highlighted that the operation has been a “hard blow” to the eastern organizations based in Spain, given that the group has been completely dismantled with the arrest of its 17 members for alleged crimes of belonging to a criminal organization. drug trafficking, money laundering and attacks on law enforcement officials.
