Operation by the Tax Agency, Civil Guard and Europol

• The 20 members of the organization have been arrested and more than 200 kilos of marijuana and 300 kilos of cocaine have been seized.

• The group hid the drugs in vacuum-sealed containers hidden in the false bottoms of all types of vehicles.

• Items valued at more than one million euros have been seized, including twelve cars, four trucks, 35,000 euros in cash, a pistol with ammunition, four computers and 35 mobile phones.

March 26, 2025.- A joint operation by the Tax Agency, the Civil Guard, the Irish Garda, the Italian @ON and Europol, called 'Pereira/Croche', has dismantled an international drug trafficking network that was based in Murcia, Castellón and Málaga and that sent large quantities of drugs to Dublin (Ireland), in the double bottoms ('caletas') of all types of vehicles. The 20 members of the organization have been arrested, and more than 200 kilos of marijuana and more than 300 kilos of cocaine have been seized.

The first indications of this organization's activity were obtained at the end of 2023. They detected the presence of a large group of about twenty people, characterized by their experience and the adoption of significant security measures to avoid detection. Furthermore, this network enjoyed a high economic level that facilitated collaboration with other people and expanded its geographical sphere of influence.

The plot had a main headquarters serving as the source of the drugs in an industrial warehouse located in Castellón de la Plana and another main headquarters in Dublin, serving as the destination. Branches of this network were also detected in the Region of Murcia and Malaga.

The criminal group focused its efforts on avoiding detection at the industrial warehouse located in Castellón de la Plana. There, they packaged the marijuana and cocaine in vacuum-sealed containers and hid them in sophisticated double-bottoms, also known as "caletas," in various vehicles, including cars, trucks, and semi-trailers.

The criminal organization used passenger cars with stashes to transport the acquired drugs to the industrial warehouse, where various products were also stored to simulate a legal shipment of merchandise. A heavy-duty tractor unit with a semi-trailer, with Irish license plates, was used to export the drugs, as the drug was destined for Ireland.

The truck, with the drugs packaged and hidden in false bottoms, generally left the industrial warehouse with a half load, to be filled with other legal merchandise at a company in the Valencian Community. Finally, after this last load, the journey to France began, from where it was shipped to Ireland.

500 kilos of drugs and objects worth one million euros

Thanks to smooth coordination between investigators and information provided to the Irish authorities, coordinated by Europol and @ON – the Italian Antimafia Investigation Directorate (DIA), it has been possible to seize 314 kilos of cocaine and 220 kilos of marijuana.

More than 100 kilos of seized cocaine were found by the Customs Surveillance Service and the Civil Guard inside the industrial warehouse in Castellón de la Plana, where key members of the criminal organization in Spain were also arrested red-handed, including an Irish representative of the international network in that country.

In recent days, the latest arrests have been made in a coordinated and simultaneous manner in Ireland and Spain of members of the criminal organization, including its leader in Ireland, as well as other members of the group. They allegedly participated in another drug shipment, this time involving 220 kilos of marijuana, which were seized in Valencia, hidden in a truck also destined for Ireland.

Property valued at over one million euros has also been seized, including twelve luxury cars, some of them equipped with stashes, four international transport trucks, 35,000 euros in cash, a pistol with ammunition, four computers and 35 mobile phones, as well as various documents related to the now-clarified illegal activities.

Five searches and 20 arrests

Five entries and searches were carried out in the operation: three entrances in Castellón de la Plana (Castellón), one in Orihuela (Alicante) and another in Dublin. The 20 detainees, thirteen in Spain and seven in Ireland, of Spanish, Irish, and Colombian nationality, aged between 30 and 50, are alleged to have been charged with membership in a criminal organization, drug trafficking, money laundering, and illegal weapons possession.