• Five people have been arrested and 36 kilos of cocaine have been seized.

• During the operation, five house searches were carried out in Ourense capital, Allariz (Ourense), Seixalbo (Ourense), Valdemoro (Madrid) and Aldea del Fresno (Madrid)

September 11, 2026. Customs Surveillance officials from the Tax Agency in Ourense, in a joint operation with the Organic Unit of the Judicial Police of the Ourense Civil Guard Command and the Provincial Brigade of the Judicial Police (Narcotics Group) of the National Police of Ourense, have dismantled a criminal organization dedicated to drug trafficking. In the operation, 36 kilos of cocaine were seized and five people were arrested —one in the city of Ourense, one in Seixalbo (Ourense), one in Fraga (Huesca) and two in Valdemoro (Madrid)—.

Operation 'Platevo Ou' began in early 2025, when investigators became aware that criminal activities (drug trafficking) were taking place in the province of Ourense.

The 'modus operandi' of this criminal organization consisted of collecting the drugs in ports and subsequently storing and distributing them throughout the national territory. To carry out this distribution, the organization used vehicles with modified tanks ('hidden compartments'). In one of those vehicles, which was intercepted by investigators in Huesca, 36 kilos of cocaine were seized. One person was arrested during the operation.

During the operation, five house searches were carried out in Seixalbo (Ourense), Allariz (Ourense), Ourense capital, Aldea del Fresno (Madrid) and Valdemoro (Madrid), where four people were arrested —one in the city of Ourense, one in Seixalbo (Ourense) and two in Valdemoro (Madrid)—, and a firearm and several backpacks used for transporting drugs by sea were seized.

This operation follows up on another one, carried out on May 30 in Asturias, where 6.5 kilos of cocaine were seized and two people belonging to the organization were arrested after having made a trip to supply narcotics to another criminal group that operated in the community of Asturias.

The operation has been directed by the Court of Instruction number 3 of Ourense.