A combined operation of the Tax Agency and the Guardia Civil

• 25 boats used for fuel supply were seized, as well as six jet skis, ten boat trailers, seven high-capacity engines and more than 40,000 liters of fuel intended for supplying "narco-boats"

• More than 700,000 euros in cash were seized, partly hidden in hidden spaces under the floor and behind the walls of the buildings of the leaders of the organisation

• 33 vehicles seized, some of them high-end with a market value of more than 200,000 euros, including a tanker truck for transporting fuel and tractors for towing boats

June 24, 2024.- The Customs Surveillance Service of the Tax Agency and the Civil Guard, within the framework of operation "Ovidio", have arrested 50 people belonging to the so-called "Clan de los Lateros". This action is considered to dismantle the largest logistics platform for supplying fuel for illicit trafficking across the Mediterranean.

The operation involved the seizure of numerous items, including more than 700,000 euros in cash, partly hidden in double bottoms under the floor and behind the walls of the buildings of the leaders of the organisation, as well as five shotgun-type firearms and 33 vehicles, some of them high-end, worth more than 200,000 euros, including a tanker truck for transporting fuel and tractors for towing the boats.

Twenty-five boats used for fuel supply have also been seized, as well as six jet skis, ten boat trailers, seven high-capacity engines and more than 40,000 litres of fuel intended for supplying "narco-boats". In addition, 42 real estate assets and 85 vehicles have been seized, as well as a total of 52 bank accounts from different financial institutions, with a total value of more than five million euros, have been blocked and seized.

The operation began in early 2023, when investigators were able to verify the existence of a criminal organisation based in the Puente del Río neighbourhood (Adra, Almería), known as the "Clan de los Lateros", which was dedicated to obtaining, storing and supplying large quantities of fuel to vessels used for drug trafficking and irregular immigration through recreational vessels with moorings in the marinas of Adra and Almerimar, mainly.

As a result of this information, the agents seized a large number of vessels and applied administrative sanctions for smuggling due to the illegal obtaining of fuel from petrol stations.

Logistics platform and illegal docks

The so-called "Lateros Clan" generally used a modus operandi that was divided into two phases to transfer fuel on the high seas to the "narco-boats."

In the first phase, they acquired fuel at different petrol stations, generally by refuelling large-capacity tanks (1,000 litres), which they transported in trucks or vans not authorised for this purpose, with the consequent risk of transporting flammable goods without any safety measures.

This fuel was then transported to a plot of land in the Puente del Río neighbourhood, where the organisation had acquired most of the properties and had installed a large number of surveillance cameras at strategic points. This, combined with the fact that it was an isolated area, meant that this place, which was constantly monitored by its members, was a safe area for the development of their illicit activities.

This place had become a "logistics platform" where the organization had more than ten vehicles, including trucks and vans, used for transporting fuel, highlighting one of its latest acquisitions, a tanker truck.

In the second phase, the fuel was transferred to cylinders and transported to farms located on the coast of the municipality of Adra (Almería), where the organisation had illegally built piers. There he owned a large number of boats that were used to transport the gas cylinders to the drug boats on the high seas. Throughout the present investigation, these vessels have been linked to recent landings of a large number of migrants on the coasts of Almería, as well as to hashish shipments.

Permanent activity and high levels of violence

These recreational vessels that left from the coast could transport quantities of between 200 and 300 jerrycans on each trip and almost daily, with up to four or five vessels carrying fuel leaving in a single day.

The organisation used violence, causing numerous incidents with third-party organisations until it took complete control of the coastal area from which it operated, as well as against petrol stations which it intimidated, as well as warehouse owners who did not want to remove the vessels they seized and the civilian population who tried to report their illegal activities.

Money laundering investigation

The economic benefits generated by this criminal activity were used by the organization to acquire and renovate properties, high-end vehicles and thoroughbred horses.

Directing criminal operations from prison

For all these reasons, a large police operation was established with a total of 35 searches and seizures in the towns of Adra and Berja. A search was also carried out in a cell in the Acebuche penitentiary (Almería) belonging to one of the main members of the organisation, who directed operations from prison using a mobile phone that he hid in his cell and with which he communicated through encrypted applications.

A total of 50 people have been arrested for the crimes of Criminal Organisation, Drug Trafficking, Against the Rights of Foreign Citizens, Smuggling, Against Collective Security, Illegal Possession of Weapons, Vehicle Theft and Money Laundering.

Risk to the population

Fuel supply operations for "narco-boats" have generated numerous dangerous situations for the population, leading to various incidents, such as the sinking and fire of boats with associated spills, or even the death of the crew of some boats, generating serious social alarm in the different population centres where this criminal activity was taking place. Transporting the vehicle through urban areas or storing it in hidden locations without adequate conditions is, in itself, an extremely serious risk.

The operation was carried out by the Customs Surveillance of the Tax Agency and the Civil Guard, and coordinated by the Court of Instruction number 2 of Berja and the Anti-Drug Prosecutor's Office of Almería.