Joint operation between the Tax Agency and the National Police

• The Customs Surveillance Unit and the UDYCO section of the BPPJ of Valladolid have dismantled an organized group that controlled the trafficking and cultivation of cannabis in the Barrio España of the town
• 11 people arrested and more than 3,500 cannabis plants seized after 14 searches in various towns in Valladolid and Palencia

May 31, 2023 .- The Customs Surveillance Service Unit of the Tax Agency and the UDYCO section of the BPPJ of Valladolid have dismantled an organized group that controlled the trafficking and cultivation of cannabis in the Barrio España of Valladolid.

The joint investigation began at the beginning of 2022, when a large number of sacks and bags containing remains of plantations were detected in a landfill near the Carmen cemetery. In fact, next to some of these bags, a traffic ticket was found in the name of an individual who belongs to one of the main clans in Barrio España, which dominate drug trafficking and organized crime in this part of the city.

This was EMG, with a history of similar crimes, so the investigation, both by Customs Surveillance and UDYCO, always in continuous operational coordination, focused on the criminal group to which this individual belongs.

As soon as sufficient evidence of a crime was found to inform the Judicial Authority, the corresponding police report was made, informing the Investigative Court 5 of Valladolid, which from the outset decreed the confidentiality of the proceedings.

In the more than twelve months that the investigation has lasted, a multitude of clues have been provided that confirm the control that this clan exercises over several cannabis plantations in different parts of the province.

When investigators determined the right moment for operational exploitation, search warrants were requested, which culminated on May 30 with 14 house searches, seven of them in Barrio España, plus other searches in Cabezón de Pisuerga, Cubillas de Santa Marta, Aldeamayor de San Martín, Cigales, Santovenia de Pisuerga, and another in Frómista (Palencia).

A total of eleven individuals have been arrested, of which seven have been placed at the disposal of the 4th Court of Instruction of Valladolid, acting as on-call officers.

More than 3,500 cannabis plants, 140 grams of cocaine, three kilos of hashish and 290,000 euros in cash from drug trafficking have been seized.