Joint operation of the Tax Agency and the National Police

• During the operation, carried out in the province of Cádiz, a second radar prepared to be installed in the near future has been dismantled.
• A total of ten people have been arrested during the final exploitation of the investigation for crimes against public health and for belonging to a criminal organization.

January 18, 2023.- Customs Surveillance Officials from the Tax Agency, in a joint operation with agents from the National Police, have dismantled an operational and functional radar in the Cadiz town of Chipiona and a thermal camera used to control ships and aircraft of the police services. In addition, another complete radar that was going to be installed soon has been involved. Three entries and searches have been carried out in the towns of Chipiona, El Puerto de Santa María and Jerez de la Frontera, arresting ten people as alleged perpetrators of crimes against public health and for belonging to a criminal organization. These interventions have been carried out as a continuation of two operations carried out on August 8 and November 1, when a total of 104 bales of hashish were intervened, yielding a gross weight of 3,120 kilos.

The criminal group was dedicated to the introduction of large quantities of hashish along the coasts of Cádiz and to supporting other organizations by controlling ships and aircraft through dismantled military radar and thermal cameras.

Previous phases

The first phase of this operation began in April 2022, when researchers discovered a series of recreational boats docked in the Guadalete River as it passes through El Puerto de Santa María and others hidden in industrial warehouses in the same town, all of them with clear signs of being used for trafficking narcotic substances. Police efforts revealed that an organization intended to introduce a boat loaded with hashish at an unknown point in the river. This vessel was located semi-sunk off the coast of Cádiz loaded with 29 burlap bales containing hashish.

In a second phase of the operation, the agents seized 75 burlap bundles of narcotic substances inside a van. The driver was arrested. Moved to the location of the stash, the two inflatable boats used to transport the drugs were found, one of them being intervened, while the other could not be recovered because it was sunken after suffering damage, although the engine was recovered.

A radar installed in an attic

As a final exploitation of the operation, three entries and searches have been carried out in the towns of El Puerto de Santa María, Jerez de la Frontera and Chipiona, initially arresting a total of seven people involved in the events.

As a result of the entries and searches, it was possible to dismantle a complete, operational and functional radar installed in an attic in the town of Chipiona, used to control ships and aircraft of the anti-drug trafficking services, as well as a thermal imaging camera. military origin, robotic and also operational and functional used to monitor the actions of police patrol boats. Another operational radar prepared to be installed in a new location soon was also intervened. A shotgun with 30 cartridges was also seized.

Subsequently, three other people were arrested in Jerez de la Frontera for their alleged involvement in the events as members of the criminal organization.