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Dismantled a new route for the introduction of cocaine into Europe from South America that used the port of El Musel as an entry route

Joint operation of the Tax Agency, National Police and Civil Guard

  • On March 20, a member of a Colombian organization was arrested when he was trying to verify the viability of opening a new drug route from South America to Europe and who intended to use the port of El Musel as an entry route.
  • The detainee was aboard a Liberian flag ship from the port of Barranquilla, in Colombia, and was transporting 130 kilos of cocaine distributed in four bales.

March 22, 2023.- Thanks to the collaboration between the Tax Agency and the different State Security Forces and Bodies, a joint operation could be carried out between Customs Surveillance, the National Police and the Civil Guard, through which an organization of Colombian origin was detected that sought to establish a new route for the introduction of cocaine from South America to Europe. This criminal network tried to use the port of El Musel as a new entry route.

Once the ship was searched, 130 kilos of cocaine were seized, distributed in four perfectly packaged bales. The seized substance was checked through an analysis carried out with the 'narcotest', yielding a positive result for cocaine. In the coming weeks, the corresponding laboratory analyzes will be carried out, with researchers assuming that the results will confirm that it is a highly pure substance.

Cooperation and coordination between the different institutions has been key to thwarting the drug traffickers' initiative, leaving the new route unusable.  

The detainee was hidden on the ship and provided with the food and drink necessary for the journey, perfectly equipped to guarantee the arrival of the cocaine to the Asturian coast. The system used allowed it to properly locate the substance, even once it was thrown into the sea or transshipped to another place.

Within the functions attributed to each organization, the Civil Guard took charge of the narcotic substance, with the National Police being in charge of processing the different procedures and placing the detainee at the disposal of the competent Judicial Authority.