Joint operation of the Tax Agency and the National Police

• 3,780 kilos of hashish, a fishing boat, two motorboats, a sailboat and two high-end vehicles have been seized

• Ten people have been arrested for alleged crimes against public health, smuggling and criminal organisation

November 30, 2023.- Customs Surveillance of the Tax Agency and the National Police, in a joint operation, have dismantled a criminal organization that was dedicated to drug trafficking by sea, have seized 3,780 kilos of hashish and have arrested ten people for alleged crimes against public health, smuggling and criminal organization.

The operation began at the beginning of 2022, when Customs Surveillance officials from the Tax Agency in Murcia began to investigate a criminal group based in this autonomous community that allegedly had the infrastructure and vessels to introduce significant quantities of narcotics by sea.

As a result of the progress of the investigation and the coordination carried out, it became clear that the organization was being investigated in parallel by the Udyco of the National Police in Murcia since November 2022, so that from April of this year it has been carried out jointly by both units.

During the investigations, the officers identified the members of the organization and the function each of them performed and discovered that the organization intended to introduce a stash in the summer of 2023.

As a result of these investigations, on August 9, the fishing vessel 'El Línea' was seized in the port of Águilas (Murcia) with 3,780 kilos of hashish resin, and its crew, made up of four men of Spanish nationality, were arrested. The illegal market value of the seized drugs is believed to have exceeded 7.6 million euros.

Later, in November 2023, it was decided to definitively exploit the investigations, with joint teams from Customs Surveillance and the National Police proceeding to dismantle the criminal group by carrying out two house searches in Cartagena and Carboneras and arresting six people in both municipalities and in the town of Mazarrón.

Three other vessels have been seized in the searches: two motorboats and the sailboat 'Soplamangas', 20 metres long. Two high-end vehicles have also been seized.

The police investigations, the detainees and the confiscated items have been placed at the disposal of the Court of Instruction number 3 of Cartagena, whose head is leading the investigations, with the ten detainees being sent to prison during the different phases of the investigation.