The good climate, the geographical enclave and the extensive colonies of European residents make Spain the perfect breeding ground for criminal organizations dedicated to drug trafficking, which are in the midst of a metamorphosis to expand the business behind the backs of the Police. The country is no longer just one of the main ports of entry for drugs such as cocaine or hashish, but it has become the jewel in the crown of marijuana production – due to its high quality. “In Europe they go crazy for it,” says an investigator, witness to how drug traffickers are mutating to expand their business.
The data supports it. In a decade, production has multiplied by more than 1,000%. Spain is unique for this. It has a good climate and prosperous land that allows marijuana to be grown in large quantities, at a good price and excellent quality. A round business. Or almost. And criminal organizations know that. Some bands that like to be in the country, settling on the Costa del Sol, in the Levante or on the Costa Brava. They go unnoticed among so many colonies of Europeans who invest in our coasts.
The drug map in Spain mutates and is thus reflected in the police and judicial data handled. From being the recipient of cocaine from South America or hashish from Morocco and then spreading to the rest of Europe, Spain is becoming the major producer of marijuana. “There is no other country in Europe that produces like this. The one in Spain is the best,” explains a researcher in the fight against drug trafficking.
This reality has led to the approval by the Ministry of the Interior, in December 2021, of a national action plan against crime associated with the production and trafficking of marijuana. According to the report of the Intelligence Center against Terrorism and Organized Crime (CITCO), in 2021, 130 tons of marijuana were seized in Spain, 117% more than in 2020.
And Catalonia – along with Andalusia – is at the head. The agents seized 17 tons last year, 135% more than the previous year. Marijuana is grown for around 1,500 euros per kilo and sold for 9,000 euros. Its cultivation is quick and simple. It is planted, collected and from Catalonia it is put in trucks, in postal parcels, in vans or in heated cars so as not to be found. It is practically undetectable due to the proximity of the border. “It is breaking the entire police strategy,” acknowledges a senior police officer.
The initial investment for those organizations that start in drug trafficking is much less than starting with cocaine. Bringing a ship of white powder from South America requires a lot of financing. And greater risk. Marijuana is simpler and opens the doors for these organizations, mainly Albanians, to make the leap into big game hunting. Researchers have detected that marijuana is just the springboard.
In Catalonia, its production, consumption and export are uncontrolled. The Mossos D’esquadra are overwhelmed. It is within the national Interior plan to fight to stop this expansion, but this community is only one of the problems. The Levante, the Costa del Sol, the Strait of Gibraltar area and Galicia continue to be hot spots and increasingly dangerous.
Years ago, when the drug in Spain was practically synonymous with cocaine and heroin, the main damage was to public health. But now it goes further. This “mutation” of drug trafficking in Spain is leaving images more typical of countries like Colombia. Reckonings, wars between organizations, kidnappings, murders, assault weapons. The day when the Maradona of drugs in Marbella left his son’s first communion still resonates, but he never arrived at the banquet he had prepared for him. In the middle of the street a hitman shot him down for an outstanding debt.
This is happening in Spain and both the Interior and the Prosecutor’s Office show great concern about the direction that the matter is taking. Holland, which is on its way to becoming a narco-state, is increasingly present in the minds of researchers. The State Attorney General’s Office, in its most recent annual report, states that this phenomenon “implemented throughout the national territory” generates, in addition to public health problems, others “of authentic citizen insecurity.”
And why this drift? This is a power struggle between criminal organizations. As long as the cake is clearly distributed there are no problems. The confrontation comes when several people fight for the same piece. In the south of Spain, several very tempting businesses converge that the mafias want to capitalize on.
Moroccan hashish is still at full capacity. According to the same CITCO report, 676 tons of this drug were seized last year, which is 40% more than in 2020. The same thing happens with cocaine coming from South America – especially from Brazil and Ecuador due to the strong pressure exerted. In colombia-. Algeciras is the main port of entry and everyone wants to be around it. In addition, it has been detected that African countries are used as “coolers” and need to be close to ports for their movement.
The specific plans that the Ministry of the Interior has been implementing for years to fight against the pressure of drug traffickers in the area are bearing fruit. It was one of the first obsessions of Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska when he arrived at the Interior after the motion of censure in the summer of 2018. That is not the same as five years ago. But it is true that drug traffickers are retreating towards the Costa del Sol and Levante. Also towards Huelva.
The mythical organizations of Sito Miñanco or the Charlines, is the organization of the old guard. Now they have to regenerate in the face of the clear loss of influence. For many years they were essential. Coca arrived through its ports and due to the type of sea, a technique was needed to catch the merchandise. The Prosecutor’s Office warns that Galicia, in addition to being an area that maintains important cocaine trafficking activity, appears to be a “logistical” center for the distribution of heroin, which comes from Holland by road, and that extends its effects to the autonomous community itself. , and even to Portugal and Andalusia.
The Public Ministry maintains that the Galician organizations dedicated to this last activity – and which seem disconnected from those dedicated to hashish or cocaine trafficking – “do without” Madrid as a transit point. In the capital, the drug business continues to be related to synthetic drugs that are linked to leisure and partying. Near Madrid, in provinces such as Toledo, researchers have identified Chinese mafias that are dedicated to the care of marijuana plantations. The mafias mutate, the drugs vary, the business continues.
