• More than six kilos of high-purity cocaine were seized, along with vehicles adapted with hydraulic systems, cash, and packaging equipment.

• Eleven arrests have been made and five simultaneous searches have been carried out on properties in Ciutadella, Maó and Es Castell in Menorca, and Carcaixent in Valencia

September 11, 2026. The Customs Surveillance Service of the Tax Agency, the National Police and the Civil Guard, in a joint investigation, have dismantled a criminal group dedicated to drug trafficking through vehicles with hidden compartments and have arrested eleven people as alleged perpetrators of the acts.

The investigation began after an increase in shipments of narcotics to Menorca was detected, coinciding with the tourist season. The suspects took advantage of the flow of passengers and vehicles on ferry lines from Barcelona, ​​Valencia and Alcudia.

The network, led by a man based in Ciutadella, used vehicles with hidden compartments, known as 'caletas', to transport drugs from the Peninsula (mainly from Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia) to the island of Menorca.

Throughout the months of investigation, the security forces dealt several blows to the criminal group's infrastructure.

During the past month of May, in the port of Ciutadella, investigators seized approximately two kilos of cocaine located in the seat of a vehicle, and proceeded to arrest the occupant.

In mid-July, in the port of Barcelona, ​​around 3.5 kilos of cocaine were found hidden in two hydraulic 'stashes', and one person was arrested.

Despite the losses suffered in May and July, the group members tried to quickly reorganize their supply operations, coordinating new trips to the peninsula.

In the early hours of July 29, investigators deployed a simultaneous operation to enter and search five properties located in the towns of Ciutadella, Maó and Es Castell in Menorca, and Carcaixent in Valencia.

In the searches, supported by canine units, public safety and scientific police, the investigators seized nearly one kilo of cocaine ready for distribution, vacuum packaging machines, bags and dosing tools, around 9,000 euros in cash, mobile phones, diaries with notes on the illicit activity and five modified vehicles. In addition, they made nine arrests (eight in Menorca and one in Valencia).

Finally, adding up all the phases of the different operations, eleven arrests have been made, cash has been seized, six kilos of cocaine, seven vehicles (three of them with a 'hidden compartment') and five house searches have been carried out.

The detainees were placed at the disposal of the competent judicial authority, and imprisonment was ordered for the main individuals responsible for the network.

This operation dismantles one of the main maritime entry routes for cocaine into Menorca.

The cars were modified to install these compartments, which were placed under the seats or on the dashboard. To standardize the transformation process, the network used vehicles of the same model and year.