A PASSAGE beneath the surface of a Costa del Sol apartment complex was the headquarters of a strategic drug trafficking scheme.

Policia Nacional took out a drug trafficking enterprise in Marbella that was hidden in the most unexpected place: underground. 

An investigation titled Operation Albarizas led to the discovery of several underground tunnels connecting homes in Las Albarizas that were suspected of concealing and moving drugs, along with evading the police. 

The operation was broken into two phases, resulting in the seizure of nearly €2,500 in cash, 5.76 grams of cocaine, 3.08 grams of tussi, 111 grams of marijuana and 133 grams of hashish. 

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Authorities suspected there were exits they weren’t aware of that allowed criminal offenders to escape capture by the police, a suspicion later verified by subsurface specialists. 

What was revealed was a large runway beneath the neighbourhood that ‘occupied practically all the blocks’ of Las Albarizas. 

The most puzzling aspect is determining exactly how the underground infrastructure came to be. 

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Cement is said to have been used to create the interior modifications. 

One inspector described the tunnel below the surface as a ‘very dark place, with a lot of dirt and water leaks.’ 

Five homes were included in the main focus of the investigation, where direct drug sales are said to have taken place from members of a family who resided in different apartments within the same complex. 

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Third party sellers were then brought in to deliver the illegal substances to customers.

The crime scheme involved more than just the use of tunnels.  

In addition to using the secret underground system for both storage and escape routes, certain spots in the complex were taken over by clan members as a point for lookouts. 

Police allege that balconies and street corners were employed to warn the collective if police presence was spotted.  

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The head officer of the investigation addressed that their unit typically only covers small-scale drug busts. 

However, she acknowledged the possibility of a simple case turning into something much more complex. 

‘In Las Albarizas, you start investigating one point and end up discovering much more,’ said the member of Narcotics Group II with Marbella’s local police station. 

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There have been 12 arrests made so far since the investigation first started last winter.

Marbella police say the investigation will remain open as they pursue new lines of inquiry.

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