Joint operation of the Tax Agency and the National Police

• More than 1,700 kilos of cocaine have been seized in the port of Valencia that were transported hidden in maritime containers from Ecuador

• One of the members of the 'Balkan Cartel' has been arrested, with military training and extensive operational knowledge, who would have traveled to Spain to carry out the transaction.

• The operation has been carried out in four phases that have allowed us to determine the different 'modus operandi' that the 'Balkan Cartel' used to hide and transport the drugs.

September 26, 2023.- Customs Surveillance Officials of the Tax Agency, in a joint operation with the National Police, have canceled the main route of entry for cocaine of the criminal organization 'Balkan Poster' in Spain. After seven inspections in the port of Valencia, more than 1,700 kilos of cocaine hidden in maritime containers from Ecuador have been seized. One of the members of the 'Balkan Cartel', with military training and extensive operational knowledge, who would have come from Albania to supervise the transaction, has been arrested. The operation has been made up of different phases, which have made it possible to determine the different 'modus operandi' that the 'Balkan Cartel' used to hide the drugs.

The investigation began when the agents learned that said network could be importing maritime containers with fruits from Ecuador on a weekly basis, which would hide significant quantities of drugs.

Great technical capacity of the 'Balkan Cartel'

The agents detected that the criminal organization used different 'modus operandi' to introduce drugs into Spain, since they hid the drugs in various ways, making use of holes in the refrigeration of the containers, designing false floors on them or beams with holes. inside to house the narcotic substance. 

Operation divided into four phases 

In a first phase of the operation, which had the collaboration of the Civil Guard, the investigators managed to detect the companies that could be used by the Balkan cartel, and it was verified how they had begun to use the maritime containers that entered Spain from regularly, importing several dozen containers from a fruit exporting company in Ecuador, destined for Valencia. 

Last June, this criminal network tried to introduce a significant amount of cocaine that was hidden in the refrigeration compartments, seizing a total of 45 kilos of cocaine and arresting the member of the criminal organization at the time. In addition, three mobile phones and various materials were seized to extract the drugs from the containers.

New more sophisticated 'modus operandi'

In the second phase of the operation, continuing with the investigations, various inspections were carried out on containers that had arrived at the port of Valencia, again finding two containers that hid 44 and 46 kilos of cocaine each. In addition, a third container with a sophisticated structure was located, which hid 200 kilos of cocaine in its false floor.

Subsequently, in the third phase, it was detected how the criminal organization was trying to introduce the drugs into the floor beams of a container, where a total of 550 kilos of narcotic substance were seized. Finally, in July, coinciding with the fourth phase of the operation, the arrival of two new containers that were hiding drugs on the floor of the structure was discovered, with 831 kilos of cocaine being seized between the two.