Lydia Spencer-Elliott
Jose SH, also known as ‘Pepin’ but long simply considered the ‘King of Heroin’, will face trial at Seville Court on October 19.
In 2016, he and 18 alleged accomplices were arrested in ‘Operation Jibia’ by National Police in the Cerro Blanco de Dos Hermanas neighbourhood in 2016.
Cerro Blanco de Dos Hermanas is a notorious location where drug networks would distribute and sell heroin in Spain.
The hearing, to start this Monday, will take place across eight sessions between now and November.
In Operation Jibia, authorities seized nine kilos of heroin, three firearms, nine supercars and over €18,000 in cash.
All those on trial, with the exception of two women, were part of an organised crime group that trafficked drugs from Seville.
The group are said to have successfully moved heroin and cocaine into the black market, which they distributed by the kilogram.
Pepin now faces 15 years behind bars for drug trafficking, leading a criminal organisation and possession of firearms.
The prosecution have also charged the King of Heroin with a 200,000 euro fine.
Meanwhile, the remaining 18 defendants face sentences ranging between 12 and two years.
A family man, Pepin has lived in Dos Hermanas for over 20 years with his wife and four children.
According to police, he is also at the helm of ‘one of the largest distributors of heroin in Andalusia with ramifications throughout Spain’.
He allegedly employs a network of salespeople who pedal the drugs in neighbourhoods, such as La Canada in Madrid.
