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 feasibility of opening a new drug route from South America to Europe and was planning to use the port of El Musel as an entry point.
• The detainee was aboard a Liberian-flagged ship from the port of Barranquilla, 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 Corps, a joint operation was carried out between Customs Surveillance, the National Police Corps and the Civil Guard, through which an organization of Colombian origin was detected that intended to establish a new route for the introduction of cocaine from South America to Europe. This criminal network was trying 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 tested using a drug test, which yielded a positive result for cocaine. The corresponding laboratory analyses will be carried out in the coming weeks, and researchers assume that the results will confirm that the substance is of high purity.

Cooperation and coordination between the different institutions has been key to successfully thwarting the drug traffickers' initiative, rendering 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 ensure the arrival of the cocaine to the Asturian coast. The system used allowed the substance to be properly located, even after it was thrown into the sea or transported to another location.

Within the functions assigned to each agency, the Civil Guard took charge of the narcotic substance, with the National Police in charge of processing the different procedures and making the detainee available to the competent Judicial Authority.