Yzabelle Bostyn
The Gibraltar Strait’s largest network of ‘narco transporters’, behind the last 4000 kilos of hashish and 627 kilos of cocaine seized in the area, has been dismantled.
Known as ‘operacion Grajuela’, the sting was a joint operation by Policia Nacional, Guardia Civil, the Agencia Tributaria and Portuguese Police.
Carried out at the same time in Spain and Portugal, the investigation was managed by Jerez’s Special Anti Drug Office.
READ MORE: Narco boat smashes against a Guardia Civil vessel off Spain’s Costa del Sol
Some 19 people have been arrested, adding to the 12 already in prison.
In Portugal, police raided 24 homes, seizing three hand guns, 1,400,000 euros in cash, 19 high end vehicles, communication systems, IT devices and two narco boats.
Meanwhile in Spain, a further three boats were seized in the operation, involving 250 police agents.
Though the operation ran from a luxury urbanisation in Lisbon, it had a wide network of collaborators and infrastructure throughout the Sanlucar de Barrameda area of Cadiz, where the leaders originated from.
READ MORE: Family clan who ‘sold drugs delivered by narco boats’ on Spain’s Costa Blanca is arrested
The organisation had between eight and ten high-performance boats alongside a network of smaller boats used to provide necessary items like food and petrol to the big boats.
The investigation began last May, when agents detected the gang picking up 6,000 kilos of cocaine from a submarine coming from South America.
Although the boat sank due to mechanical issues, it prompted the police investigation, locating the leaders in the Cadiz areas of Sanlucar de Barrameda, Chipiona and El Cuervo.
Later, police found the director of the gang’s naval operations hiding out from Spanish authorities in Lisbon.
The well-established drug trafficker controlled the criminal drug network with the highest communication technology, allowing them to track the movement of security forces in the Gibraltar Strait.
Each time drugs were moved, gang leaders would travel to Spain to coordinate the operation.
READ MORE: Criminals operated helicopter ‘narco flights’ importing hashish into Spain
