Joint operation of the Tax Agency and the National Police

• The drug, arranged in rectangular packages of one kilo each, was hidden in a cane molasses drum.
• Three people have been arrested, including the administrator of the importing company, related to organized crime and drug trafficking.

17 June 2023.- Customs Surveillance Officials of the Tax Agency, in a joint operation with National Police agents, have seized 65 kilos of cocaine hidden in the merchandise transported inside a container that had arrived at the Port of Malaga from South America. The drug, arranged in rectangular packages of one kilo each, was hidden in a drum of cane sugar molasses. Three people have been arrested, including the administrator of the importing company, allegedly related to organized crime and drug trafficking.

The investigation began in May when it was learned of the existence of a container that could be used for trafficking narcotic substances. After several investigations into the company exporting the container, as well as its administrator, the agents detected suspicious movements in the import and export related to fruits from South America.

One kilo rectangular packages

With the progress of the investigations into the environment of the importing company, it was possible to identify the container that transported the molasses, whose destination was the port of Malaga.

Once the container arrived in the capital of Malaga, an exhaustive inspection was carried out by investigators, locating 65 kilos of cocaine, arranged in rectangular packages of one kilo each, inside a cane sugar drum.

The dark color of the matter and its high density caused the packages to be camouflaged in the fluid, being dispersed near the surface without being visible to the naked eye.

After verifying that the drugs were going to be transferred from the port of Malaga to an industrial warehouse in an industrial estate located in the Malaga town of Coín, a device was established in which three people were arrested, among whom was the administrator. of the importing company.

The investigation has been carried out by Customs Surveillance of the Tax Agency jointly with agents of the National Police within the framework of EMPACT (European Multidisciplinary Platform against Criminal Threats). Through this framework, European Union Member States, agencies and other EU partners work closely together to address major criminal threats through joint operational actions designed to dismantle criminal networks, their structures and their business models. . The research developed within this framework has been co-financed by the European Union within the support given to Member States to combat crime in fields such as cannabis, heroin and cocaine trafficking, among other matters.