Hundreds of kilos of cocaine and hashish seized
Spain’s Guardia Civil has dismantled an international network that introduced “large quantities” of cocaine and hashish from Latin America and West Africa into Portugal and Spain, the force announced today.
During the investigation, which involved the collaboration of the Portugal’s PJ Judicial Police and its GNR, 278 kilos of cocaine were seized, along with 3,831 kilos of hashish, 180 cannabis plants, half a million euros in cash, “several weapons of war”, 51 bank accounts, five properties, 23 motor vehicles and a boat.
Thirty-one people were arrested in the Spanish cities of Huelva (25), Seville (2), Algeciras (2), Granada (1) and Malaga (1). The arrests took place as part of the Linked and Ecolinked operations, says the Spanish police.
Those arrested are suspected of crimes “against public health, membership of a criminal organisation, possession and storage of war weapons, money laundering, smuggling, document forgery, receiving stolen goods and theft of motor vehicles”.
“Both investigations began with information about the existence of a very active criminal organisation, with connections in Colombia, Panama and Portugal, dedicated to the introduction of cocaine and cannabis resin (hashish) from Latin America and West Africa, both by sea, using containers, sailboats and high-speed vessels, and by air, using recreational or private aircraft,” said the statement from the Guardia.
According to police, the criminal network was able to carry out six operations bringing cocaine into Europe ”simultaneously”, either “through various ports”, or using recreational vessels and speedboats on the coasts of Portugal and Spain.
In addition to the PJ and the GNR, operations, led by the Huelva Court of Instruction, had the collaboration of authorities from Colombia, Panama, the United States of America, the United Kingdom and France, as well as Europol.
Portugal was, in addition to Spain, one of the countries where there were field operations against the suspects, along with Colombia, Guyana, Panama and France.
