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ARCHIVED - Guardia Civil takes down British and French drugs ring in Alicante and Murcia
Brits, French and Russians were among those arrested in a massive drugs bust on the Costa Blanca and Costa Cálida
The Guardia Civil in Murcia and Alicante has taken down a wide-ranging international drug ring involving British, French and Russian criminals using minors to sell drugs and who were smuggling large amounts of cannabis to Belgium and the Netherlands.
The investigations began in January 2022, specifically in the customs area of the Alicante-Elche Miguel Hernández Airport, when the Analysis and Investigation Office (ODAIFI) intercepted two packages with more than 2,200 kilograms of hashish destined for France.
So, in order to try and clarify the origin and senders of the drugs, the Territorial Judicial Police Team of Pilar de la Horadada started up operation Hermar.
In the first phase of the operation, after analysing all the information and evidence obtained, the investigators identified two 28-year-old Frenchmen who habitually sent packages of drugs to France, Belgium and Holland using falsified documentation.When they searched the homes of the French citizens in Orihuela Costa, police uncovered an illegal cannabis club with which they were connected, which was run by a 26-year-old Russian man who worked for the suspects in the sale and purchase of marijuana.
In February, at Valencia-Manises International Airport, two new packages containing more than 2 kilograms of marijuana destined for Holland were intercepted. When the criminals realised that their packages were not arriving at their destinations, they changed their modus operandi, making their subsequent drug shipments from an ordinary post office. In addition, they suffered a rollover in which they lost goods worth more than 70,000 euros, so they were forced to improve their security, for which they moved to a new, more secure address and acquired various weapons.In a new phase of the operation, after obtaining information with the help of the authorities in the UK, the Guardia Civil identified the supplier of the drugs as a British citizen, 30 years old and resident in Orihuela Costa. He, along with others under investigation, owned five indoor marijuana plantations throughout the province of Alicante.
Despicably, the man even used his underage son to sell the marijuana on his electric scooter, leading police to arrest the minor for drug trafficking in San Miguel de Salinas on September 1, 2022.
Finally, on September 28, Spanish police carried out a total of nine house searches in Orihuela Costa, Torrevieja, San Miguel de Salinas, Crevillente, Agost, Miranda-Cartagena (Murcia), Balsicas-Torre Pacheco, and another one in the clandestine cannabis association in Orihuela Costa.
The searches ended with the arrest of eight men, all aged between 23 and 50, of French, British, Russian, Bolivian, Colombian and Spanish nationality, and one British minor.The following day, two women of Bulgarian and Colombian nationality, aged 27 and 38, were also investigated for the same acts.
Depending on their degree of involvement, those investigated and arrested, most of whom have previous police records for similar crimes, have been charged with membership of a criminal group, drug trafficking, falsification of public or official documents and illegal possession of weapons.
During the operation, police seized 479 marijuana
plants, almost 4 kilograms of hashish, more than 10 kilograms of marijuana buds, 100 millilitres of pure tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) normally used for vaping with electronic cigarettes, other smaller quantities of drugs such as cocaine, ecstasy (MDMA) and hashish oil, more than 70,000 euros, two short firearms, one camouflaged taser-type weapon, two large machetes, four cars, two vans, one large motorbike and a jet ski, as well as forged official personal identification documents and mobile phones.
plants, almost 4 kilograms of hashish, more than 10 kilograms of marijuana buds, 100 millilitres of pure tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) normally used for vaping with electronic cigarettes, other smaller quantities of drugs such as cocaine, ecstasy (MDMA) and hashish oil, more than 70,000 euros, two short firearms, one camouflaged taser-type weapon, two large machetes, four cars, two vans, one large motorbike and a jet ski, as well as forged official personal identification documents and mobile phones.The three ringleaders of this criminal organisation have been sent to prison without bail, and with this operation now completed, the Guardia Civil has dealt another blow to international drug trafficking in the Spanish provinces of Alicante and Murcia.
Images: Guardia Civil
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