Staff Reporter
A GUARDIA Civil officer in southern Spain is facing 14 years in jail for allegedly colluding with multiple drug cartels.
Lieutenant Raul PM, is accused of tipping off narco bosses ahead of anti-drug raids and of organising the theft of almost 30 bales of hashish from a police evidence storage lock-up.
It comes after narco insiders previously revealed how their bosses spend up to 30% of profits on bribing police and port authorities in the likes of Algeciras – the main entry point for illegal drug shipments from South America, alongside Galicia in the north.
The former head of the Citizen Security Unit (Usecic), with the Montequinto Command, has been awaiting trial behind bars since August 10, 2020.
His arrest came after a secret investigation, launched in February 2019, discovered he was passing information to drug cartels, police claim.
According to prosecutors, he handed over any intelligence the mafia men requested, including who police were searching for in their databases, as well as which vehicles or licence plate numbers were being monitored.
READ MORE: Top narco reveals how drug cartels bribe police in southern Spain and beyond
It is alleged he accessed information above his pay grade in exchange for ‘financial benefits’.
A middleman, to whom the agent passed the information, is also on trial.
Between them, prosecutors say, they created a “shield” to “guarantee the security of drug trafficking operations.”
The gig was rumbled when the officer “tried to recruit” an undercover Guarda Civil investigator who was sent in to infiltrate the ring.
The disgraced officer is due to stand trial this week, however his lawyer Ana Hidalgo has asked the judge for a suspension of the trial over alleged issues with the legal process.
A judge has yet to make a ruling on the appeal.
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