Attempt to open a cocaine entry route through the Port of Málaga thwarted
Joint operation by the Tax Agency and the National Police
- Among the eight detainees are several port facility workers.
- Eight kilos of cocaine have been seized that had been sent as the first test shipment through the “blind hook” modality.
- One of those arrested allegedly provided the necessary infrastructure to carry out the extraction of drugs from the contaminated container, thanks to the work he does in the port area.
August 9, 2019.- Customs Surveillance Officials from the Tax Agency and agents from the National Police have aborted the attempt to open an entry route for cocaine through the Port of Malaga. In the operation, eight people have been arrested – including five port workers – and six searches have been carried out.
In addition, eight kilos of cocaine have been seized that had been sent as the first test shipment through the “blind hook” modality. The shipment was removed last July from inside a container registered in the Port of Valencia. The end-use of the shipment was the Port of Malaga, where the organization tried unsuccessfully to extract the illicit merchandise.
Thanks to the information analyzed by the investigators, it was learned that an organization was trying to open a new route of entry for cocaine into our country. To achieve this, they had maintained contacts, since the end of 2018, with significant workers at the Port of Malaga, who allegedly had shown themselves willing to collaborate in their objective.
Eight kilos of cocaine destined for the Port of Malaga
Last June 2019, investigators from the National Police, in coordination with the Tax Agency, coordinated their efforts to detect the shipment of possible containers that could transport the cocaine that the members of the organization would have introduced into Brazil. using the “blind hook” method, with end-use to the Port of Malaga.
Thus, a consignment of 12 containers was identified that had their origin in the Brazilian port of Santos and that were in Valencia waiting to be transferred on another ship to their end-use in Malaga. The seal of one of the shipments did not match the one that appeared on the bill of lading from the Port of Salvador (Brazil). After opening it, a raffia bag was observed, inside which were eight packages, wrapped in adhesive tape, hiding a total of eight kilos of cocaine.
They intended to open a new route of entry for cocaine into Spain
The organization was perfectly structured to carry out all the necessary tasks that would allow them to open a new normal entry route for cocaine into Spain through the Port of Malaga, until now outside the most common circuits used by the cartels. of the drug.
After the investigations, it has been possible to determine the different roles played by those investigated. Thus, the person in charge of providing and discharging, through his associates in Brazil, the cocaine that would be introduced into the container destined for Spain was located. Likewise, it was possible to identify his link with the rest of those investigated, as well as his trusted man.
Another very relevant role has been played by a worker at the Port of Malaga who, thanks to the work he performs, allegedly provided the necessary infrastructure in said facility to carry out the extraction of the drugs from the contaminated container. Finally, it was also possible to identify several workers who, thanks to the work they perform, could move freely throughout the port area, including the area where the containers are located and arranged.
It is worth highlighting the extreme security measures used by some of the investigators regarding their communications, who from the beginning and throughout the investigation have used encrypted communication systems.
One of the detainees also grew marijuana
During the course of the investigations, it was determined that one of those involved was also dedicated to growing marijuana for its subsequent sale and distribution and that he had set up a plantation in a rural area near the town of Cártama (Málaga).
The investigators established a surveillance device around his home and observed how a truck with a German license plate loaded various belongings, before leaving for France. Given the possibility that it was transporting a narcotic substance, and in order not to jeopardize the investigation into cocaine trafficking, French agents were contacted to intercept the vehicle. The truck was searched at the Benesse Maremne tollbooth, and 37 kilos of marijuana were found inside.
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