SPAIN’S war on drug trafficking has exploded in dramatic fashion, as police smash two major cocaine-smuggling rings operating on opposite ends of the country.
One involved a narco-submarine off the Galician coast, the other was a vast international network using ‘spider-men’ to climb shipping containers in Valencia.
In Galicia, authorities intercepted a semi-submersible vessel loaded with over 3.6 tonnes of cocaine, sparking a high-speed pursuit that ended when traffickers ditched part of the cargo from a fleeing vehicle.
The rest of the haul was discovered the following morning, hidden under a tarpaulin on Niñeiriños beach. The operation resulted in 14 arrests, including the three crew members of the sub.
Investigators revealed the gang was part of a sophisticated criminal organisation using legitimate nautical equipment repair and sales businesses as a front to conceal its true operations.
In the days that followed, 18 raids across the regions of Barbanza and O Salnés led to the seizure of cash, vehicles, boats, communication equipment, and critical documentation linking the suspects to large-scale international trafficking.
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Twelve of those arrested have been remanded in custody on charges of drug trafficking and membership in a criminal organisation.
But the drama didn’t stop there.
At the Port of Valencia, a separate operation saw the National Police dismantle a colossal smuggling ring responsible for funneling cocaine into Europe through commercial shipping routes.
In what is being described as one of Spain’s biggest ever anti-narcotics operations, 81 people were arrested, including three members of the notorious Balkan cartel, 17 port workers, 9 lorry drivers, and 17 executives tied to five logistics firms.
The gang’s methods were as audacious as they were cinematic. So-called ‘spider-men’, elite climbers hired by the cartel, would scale towering stacks of containers to extract hidden drug shipments under cover of darkness.
Meanwhile, insiders from transport companies and vehicle dealerships helped legitimise port access and smuggle the narcotics out without raising suspicion.
Over the course of 59 raids across Valencia and Ibiza, police seized 4.5 tonnes of cocaine, €365,000 in cash, an arsenal of firearms, and a haul of luxury goods – the spoils of a drug empire that stretched across Europe.
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