Joint operation of the Tax Agency and the National Police

• The operation has resulted in eight arrests, four of them in the city of Vigo, where they had travelled from the south of the peninsula to ensure the safe transfer of the substance to the Costa del Sol.

May 5, 2023.- Officials from the Tax Agency and agents from the National Police have seized two tons of cocaine from a criminal organization operating from South America through the port of Vigo. The operation has resulted in eight arrests, four of them in the city of Vigo, where they had travelled from the south of the peninsula to ensure the safe transport of the substance to the Costa del Sol. Eight raids and searches were carried out simultaneously in the province of Malaga, where the other four arrests were made, in which 58,000 euros in cash were seized.

They took advantage of the fresh fruit trade routes

The investigations began in the summer when officials from the Tax Agency and agents from the National Police shared information about an organisation that planned to introduce a significant quantity of cocaine through the port of Vigo. It is believed to be an organisation that was very active in the port of Algeciras, led by a historic drug trafficker who operated in Campo de Gibraltar, and who now intended to open a new route for introducing narcotics through the north of the peninsula, taking advantage of the trade routes for fresh fruit with South America.

Customs authorities at the port of Vigo have intensified their controls to reinforce the position of the port as a territory impervious to criminal organisations. Those behind this organisation have been identified. From that moment on, led by the Anti-Drug Prosecutor's Office of the National Court, joint investigations were coordinated with the National Police in order to arrest those responsible for the crime.

Investigations have led to the interception of two shipments of nearly two tons of cocaine hydrochloride. The first intervention took place on March 4, originally carried out by the Colombian Anti-Narcotics Directorate when 1.3 tons of cocaine were seized in the port of Cartagena (Colombia). It was the subsequent investigation that led to the conclusion that the drug was the property of this organization. The second shipment was intercepted on April 25 upon arrival of the container at the port of Vigo. On this occasion, 650 kilos of 'cocaine hydrochloride' with a purity of 90% were seized.

In both cases, the substance was hidden inside two pallets of bananas, taking advantage of the usual commercial routes that operate in the city, and the criminal organization was neutralized when the first and only shipment that had arrived at the port of Vigo was intercepted.