Joint operation by the Tax Agency and the National Police

• More than 38 kilos of cocaine base paste, 7,500 liters of precursors and machinery for cocaine manufacturing and a 15-ton press have been seized.

• Twenty-five people have been arrested, including those responsible for the criminal structure, and ten searches have been carried out in eight towns in the province of Valencia.

• Legal tender and counterfeit banknotes, weapons and ammunition, five luxury cars, 28 mobile phones and various documents were seized.

June 19, 2025.-Customs Surveillance officers from the Tax Agency, in a joint operation with National Police officers, have dismantled a criminal group dedicated to cocaine trafficking in Valencia. The group had a laboratory capable of cooking up to 30 kilos of the drug per day. During the operation, called 'I. Amable/Sunka/Zafra', 25 people have been arrested, including leaders of the criminal network, and a dozen raids and searches have been carried out in eight towns in the province of Valencia. These raids have resulted in the seizure of machinery, precursors, and both base paste and cocaine, as well as legal tender and counterfeit banknotes, weapons and ammunition, five luxury cars, 28 mobile phones, and various documents.

The operation began in July 2024 with the detection of a Spanish company suspected of smuggling narcotics into Spain through the port of Valencia. This company maintained business relations with an exporter with a long history of drug trafficking.

The company under investigation made its first import of frozen fruit pulp in August of that same year. From that moment on, investigators monitored and controlled its operations while continuing to delve into the entity's economic structure and the activities of its administrator, whose income was apparently limited to unemployment benefits, despite the fact that it financed international container import operations.

In December 2024, the company made a second import of frozen pulp, which it stored in a cold storage facility in a town near Valencia, as it lacked the infrastructure to handle the shipment. At the beginning of February, the company's administrator arranged for the removal of the merchandise from this warehouse. The vast majority of the pulp was sent to a legal distributor, but the drums containing guava pulp remained in the cold storage, with the manager indicating they would be removed the following day.

Research leads to the core of the network

Once the corresponding surveillance service was established, the arrival of the manager and an Albanian man with multiple prior convictions for property crimes was detected. He loaded part of the guava pulp into a refrigerated van and transported it to a chalet located in the municipality of Oliva, far from inhabited areas. The merchandise was unloaded inside and left out in the open, with no further concern for respecting the cold chain. In the following days, this individual unloaded the rest of the pulp and remained guarding the property, where he lived accompanied by several dogs, clearly acting as a watchdog.

In the unloading process, this person was assisted by two other Albanian citizens who had arrived in Spain a few days earlier and were staying in high-end tourist apartments, using rental vehicles for their travel.

In this context, a fourth individual was identified, also Albanian and based in Spain, who was apparently the supervisor of the Albanian branch of the organization. This person held meetings with two Colombian brothers who had recently arrived in Spain and were staying in Valencia and Alboraya, in properties managed by the Albanians.

In addition, meetings were detected with a Spanish man, a resident of Catarroja, with a history of drug trafficking in Ecuador. This, in turn, appeared to have under his control a group of individuals of South American origin, residing in a property he owned and who were being transported to a chalet located in the municipality of Torrent.

As a result of their surveillance efforts, officials discovered that the South American residents of Catarroja were being taken to another chalet in the town of Alberic, where they spent much of the day. At the same time, the Spanish citizen on whom they depended began gradually acquiring large quantities of chemicals, which he stored in a basement in Catarroja, from where they were distributed to the villas.

The Colombian brothers also made specific visits to these homes, which allowed investigators to detect that they were finalizing the installation of laboratories to begin the cocaine extraction process.

The operation was precipitated when investigators observed movements that led them to believe the organization had already obtained the narcotic substance, so they requested the relevant entries and searches.

Entries and searches in eight towns in Valencia

The ten searches were carried out in two phases in eight locations in the province of Valencia. The first took place on Friday, April 25, and focused on both critical locations for the organization and the capture of the network's leaders. Searches were carried out at the chalet in Alberic, two apartments and a ground floor in Catarroja, an apartment in Pobla Llarga, and an apartment in Alboraya. The following day, searches were carried out at the chalets in Oliva and Torrent, another chalet in Turis, and an apartment in Valencia.

The search in Alberic led to the arrest of seven people, six of South American origin and one Spaniard, who were working in a basement with poor living and ventilation conditions, where they were handling guava pulp to separate cocaine base from it. In addition, a search was carried out at a home in Pobla Llarga, where nearly 40 kilos of cocaine base were seized, along with a brick of cocaine.

In the remaining searches carried out, money, small amounts of drugs, and a large amount of chemical material were seized, as well as stickers with the logo of a car brand, which were intended to be used to mark the drug packages.

The next day, the second phase was developed, with the location of a second laboratory in the town of Torrent. There, the organization carried out the chlorhydrate process of cocaine base paste, where it obtains its characteristic white appearance—in addition to drying and presenting the drug—locating the machinery for this, which included a 15-ton press and a mold with the car company's logo. A chalet in Oliva was also searched, where, in addition to the pulp, firearms and a large amount of ammunition, as well as counterfeit euro banknotes, were seized.

Capacity to produce up to 30 kilos of cocaine per day

Based on the characteristics and resources of the "macrolab," divided into two locations, investigators estimate that, with a continuous flow of work, it could produce 20 to 30 kilos of cocaine per day.

It is common for these types of organizations to separate the location where they store the raw material from the location where the narcotic substance is "cooked," which is generally carried out entirely in the same location.

Arrests and seized items

While the second phase of the operation was underway, one of the leaders of the Albanian organization was located by agents while trying to leave Spain through El Prat Airport, and was arrested.

As a result of these raids, 18 people were arrested and multiple items were seized, including €32,735, €38,850 in counterfeit goods, 38.2 kilos of cocaine base, 7.4 kilos of cocaine, 87 grams of hashish, and 94 grams of marijuana.

A large amount of material used to prepare cocaine has also been seized: More than 500 kilos of solid precursors and more than 7,000 liters of liquid precursors, as well as laboratory instruments and machinery such as test tubes and pressure gauges, five vacuum packers, three precision scales, microwaves, stoves, pots, lamps, and other elements related to the chlorination of cocaine base paste, presses, molds, and logos.

The organization also had weapons and ammunition that were also seized: Two machetes, four pistols, a revolver, a hunting pistol, 30 magazines of different weapons and calibers, between 500 and 1,000 rounds of ammunition, a silencer, a stun gun and three extendable guards. Five luxury cars, police vests, a tracking beacon, 28 cell phones, several SIM cards, various accounting records, and other documentation were also seized.

Subsequently, on May 21 and 22, seven more individuals were arrested who appear to be directly or indirectly linked to the organization's operations and activities. These included the manager of the importing company and the lessees and owners of the vehicles and properties used by members of the criminal network.

The investigation has led to the identification of high-ranking officials within the organization, thus dismantling the entire network and leading to the arrest of a total of 25 people: 12 Colombians, nine Spaniards, two Albanians, one Mexican, and one Italian. Court No. 4 of Onteniente, which is leading the investigation, has been asked to issue international arrest warrants for the remaining members of the organization, who were outside of Spain at the time of the investigation. The investigations are still underway and further arrests are not ruled out.

The Regional Operational Unit of the Tax Agency's Customs Surveillance Service in Valencia and the National Police participated in the operation.