Operation 'Limose24'

• The intervention was carried out during customs controls established by the State Agency for Tax Administration

• A criminal group that trafficked cocaine between South America and Europe has been dismantled

• Five people have been arrested in the province of Murcia as part of the anti-drug operation

• The criminal group received and distributed cocaine from Peru to Europe, hiding the drug inside modified boxes through parcel companies.

August 21, 2024.- The Civil Guard, acting as Tax Guard, within the framework of the 'Limose24' operation, carried out within the National Plan against Drug Trafficking and Consumption, and on the occasion of the customs controls established by the Tax Agency, has dismantled a criminal group that operated between South America and Europe, dedicated to cocaine trafficking.

The operation began after the detection at Elche-Alicante Airport, under the functional dependency of the Administrator of the Customs of Alicante-Elche Airport, of a package containing 525 grams of cocaine, hidden in the interior walls of a box destined for the province of Murcia.

At the beginning of July, the Fiscal and Border Analysis and Investigation Unit (UDAIFF) of Elche-Alicante airport, while inspecting packages while carrying out its fiscal protection tasks, detected 525 grams of cocaine on the inside walls of a package.

Following this discovery, the support of the Organized Crime and Anti-Drug Team (EDOA) of the Alicante Command was requested, launching an exhaustive investigation.

Modus operandi of the gang

Once the evidence was gathered, investigators were able to determine how the members of the organization worked, discovering that there were members who worked for an international distribution company, where personal data was collected and provided to the criminal group, using it to hide the true identities of those responsible.

In addition, the criminal group had changed the name of one of its companies to another person's name in order to be able to work legally as parcel delivery drivers in Murcia. Using this seemingly legal activity, they organized delivery routes with several national companies, but diverted the drug packages for their own benefit.

The operation

On July 29, after gathering sufficient information and with judicial authorization, the agents carried out an operation to make the controlled delivery of the seized package, managing to arrest in the province of Murcia four men, between 39 and 60 years old, two of them of Spanish nationality and the other two Colombians.

The detainees, who are charged with drug trafficking and belonging to a criminal group, have been placed at the disposal of the Investigating Court No. 2 of Elche, who ordered their imprisonment.

Finally, on August 8, investigators arrested a 40-year-old Colombian woman, also linked to the group, who was released after being charged with the crimes.

For more information, please contact the Alicante Civil Guard's Peripheral Communications Office at 96 514 56 60, extension 0610011.