Simon Hunter
SPAIN’S Civil Guard has carried out a joint operation with UK authorities to bust a drug-trafficking gang that was using recreational boats to smuggle their illicit hauls.
The operation, dubbed “Eulalia”, targetted a gang that was importing large quantities of cocaine from South America into both Malaga province and the United Kingdom.
The operation was sparked after a vessel in Benalmadena aroused the suspicions of the authorities. On board, officers located a chest containing 18 one-kilo packages of cocaine, wrapped in black plastic.
A further search of the cabins turned up another 166 identical packages, according to a press release from the Civil Guard.
A total of nine alleged gang members were arrested, all of them British. An international arrest warrant has been requested in the UK for the offences of drug trafficking and belonging to a criminal organisation.
Searches were carried out in both Mijas Costa and Benalmadena in Malaga province, as well as in the UK. The searches by the authorities in Spain found 3.8 kilos of cocaine, two luxury recreational boats, a vehicle and a large quantity of cellphones.
After an exchange of information with the UK authorities, it emerged that the gang was also under investigation there. From that moment the probe was carried out jointly between the two countries.
The authorities in the UK located around 4.5 tonnes of cocaine as part of their investigations.
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