Joint operation of the Tax Agency and National Police

• Five people arrested, allegedly engaged in large-scale drug trafficking through the use of maritime containers loaded with "pellets"

• The organization had two independent industrial warehouses in Reus; The first of them was intended for the custody and cooling of the substance, while the second was used for packaging, sealing and storing the drug once it was extracted from the material in which it was camouflaged.

• As a result of the searches carried out, more than five kilos of synthetic drugs –"speed" and MDMA–, 3,965 euros in cash, two hydraulic presses, material for the production of narcotics, a truck and a high-end vehicle have been seized.

April 7, 2024.- Customs Surveillance Officials of the Tax Agency, in a joint operation with the National Police, have seized 16 tons of 'pellets' (pressed cylindrical pieces of various materials and that serve as fuel for boilers or stoves) impregnated with cocaine, and they have dismantled a processing, preparation and storage center for synthetic drugs. The agents have arrested five people, allegedly engaged in large-scale drug trafficking through the use of maritime containers loaded with "pellets." The organization had two independent industrial warehouses in Reus (Tarragona); The first of them was dedicated to the custody and cooling of the substance, while the second was used for packaging, sealing and storing the drug once it was extracted from the material in which it was camouflaged.

As a result of the searches carried out, five kilos of synthetic drugs – speed and MDMA –, 3,965 euros in cash, two hydraulic presses, material for the production of narcotics, a truck and a high-end vehicle have been seized.

The investigation began last year, when the agents became aware of the existence of a criminal organization, based in our country, allegedly dedicated to large-scale drug trafficking.

Drugs in containers with sophisticated concealment methods

The members of the organization – of Albanian, Dutch and Lithuanian origin – introduced the narcotic substance through Spanish ports, using maritime containers, simulating international trade operations with the appearance of legality. To do this, they used very sophisticated concealment methods, camouflaging or impregnating the drugs in different materials in order to make their detection difficult.

The investigation has proven shipments of containers of "pellets" impregnated with narcotics - amphetamine or cocaine - to Spain from the American continent. Once they arrived in our country, they let it
"cool", remaining for a minimum of three months inside a warehouse until they moved it to another place where they extracted the drugs.

Organization infrastructure: two industrial warehouses in Reus

In the middle of last year, the arrival of a suspicious shipment of "pellets" was detected, which was subsequently transported and stored in a warehouse located in an industrial estate in Reus (Tarragona).

After several efforts, the agents confirmed that the organization had infrastructure in the Tarragona municipality. There it had two independent industrial warehouses in which different functions were carried out. While the first was intended for the custody and "cooling" of the substance, the second was used to package, seal and store the drug once it had been extracted from the material in which it was camouflaged.

920 bags of pellets impregnated with cocaine were seized

For months, investigators exercised permanent control over the ship in which the cargo had been stored, although there were no movements of interest or attempts to transfer the cargo.

It was at the end of last year when agents detected unusual movement in the industrial warehouse under investigation. In this sense, they observed the arrival of an individual at the place where the bags of pellets were being guarded and, a few hours later, that of a foreign truck that parked nearby. Early the next day, three of those investigated began loading the bags into the trailer of the truck, a fact that precipitated the police operation. After verifying that the "pellet" reacted positively to the cocaine test, 920 bags of this product were seized – each weighing 18 kilos – totaling 16,560 kilos.

Likewise, the agents carried out a search of the other warehouse owned by the organization, proving that it was going to be used for the preparation and storage of the impregnated cocaine, once it was extracted. In it they located more than five kilos of different synthetic drugs and machinery used in the production of the narcotic substance (a hydraulic press, an industrial press, heat sealers, packaging machines and dryers).

Finally, investigators searched two homes in Tarragona and Marbella – homes of the main suspects – and arrested the five people involved in the events.