Joint operation by the Tax Agency and the National Police

• 27 tons of fruit pulp seized, after another similar shipment was intercepted in Colombia, this time adulterated with 955 kilos of cocaine destined for Spain

• Preliminary analyses carried out by the Ministry of Health revealed that the 27 tons of fruit pulp seized in the operation had not been contaminated with cocaine.

• Eleven people have been arrested and the organization dismantled; it had a complex security protocol to try to avoid detection.

November 11, 2025. Customs Surveillance officials from the Tax Agency, in a joint operation with the National Police, with the collaboration of Europol and the National Police of Colombia, have dismantled a criminal organization dedicated to the importation of cocaine mixed with food products for its subsequent extraction in a clandestine laboratory established in the province of Alicante.

After a container in Colombia was intercepted with a shipment of 955 kilos of fruit pulp adulterated with cocaine destined for Spain, another identical shipment of 27 tons of fruit pulp was seized in the Alicante town of Monóvar. After preliminary analyses carried out by the Ministry of Health, it turned out not to be contaminated with any narcotic substance, even though the company responsible for the shipments was the same. As part of the operation, eleven people have been arrested.

The investigation began in 2024 by officials of the Customs Surveillance Service in Alicante after the detection of imports of fruit pulp originating in Colombia and destined for a company in Alicante, which were suspected of containing narcotic substances. Investigators began inquiries to locate the true destination of the merchandise and the location of the clandestine laboratory for extracting the narcotic substance.

During the first phase of the investigation, in which a documentary control of imports was carried out, the investigators managed to identify the two main suspects. One of them, the leader of the organization, made the decisions without being involved in the documentation. The second was listed as a partner in the instrumental company and organized the operational logistics of the import. In a second phase, in which the National Police joined the operation, the arrival of a new container was detected in May 2025. The investigators checked the merchandise, which was unloaded at a warehouse linked to the importing company.

Security protocol designed to avoid detection

According to the investigations, the organization left part of the merchandise in the warehouse, simulating a routine commercial import, and began to clandestinely move part of the merchandise to points far from urban centers.

For drug storage, organizations prefer to use rural properties, isolated warehouses, or secondary buildings in sparsely populated areas, where the probability of detection by neighbors, cameras, or municipal services is minimal, since the process of extracting or treating the contaminated merchandise usually generates noticeable side effects (strong odors, emissions, waste, noise, or handling of substances).

Organizations that use food products (in this case, fruit pulp) as a vehicle to introduce narcotics always work with two opposing needs: On the one hand, to maintain an appearance of legitimate commercial activity that facilitates its international and local logistics; and, on the other hand, to set up a clandestine infrastructure capable of recovering the drug from the contaminated merchandise. This dual requirement conditions all of its operational decisions.

The criminal network transferred merchandise to isolated enclaves using logistics designed to avoid traceability: Vehicles registered in the name of third parties (sometimes with criminal records, sometimes seemingly unrelated to the company), rapid changes of ownership, use of intermediary drivers, and counter-surveillance procedures such as using evasive routes, nighttime hours, or diversionary maneuvers.

In this way, the organization created an intermediate layer between the commercial company receiving the merchandise and the places where the drug was actually handled, making it difficult to legally identify possession and effective control over the narcotic.

Container in Colombia and laboratory registration

Despite all the security and counter-surveillance measures employed by the organization, the agents managed to identify new people involved in the operation and locate a place that would meet all the necessary requirements to house a clandestine cocaine extraction laboratory.

Meanwhile, last September, a new container of fruit pulp originating in Colombia and destined for the company under investigation was detected. This container was inspected at its origin by the Colombian National Police, and, once the samples were taken and the corresponding analysis was carried out, it was found to contain 955.5 kilos of cocaine impregnated in the fruit pulp.

Immediately, preparations began in Spain for the operation to dismantle the organization. The operation, which took place on November 4th and 5th, resulted in a total of five raids and searches spread across the Alicante towns of Sax, Elda, Monovar, Petrer and Castalla, and eleven people were arrested.

In the search of the laboratory, which was located on a farm in the vicinity of the town of Sax, more than 1,000 kilos of precursors were found (caustic soda, ammonia, sulfuric acid, nitric acid, ethyl acetate, gasoline…) and all the materials necessary for the production of cocaine (stainless steel pots and large plastic drums, sieving paper, scales, test tubes…). In addition, 10 kilos of cocaine were found. The remains of an indoor marijuana grow operation and more than two kilos of marijuana ready for consumption were also found on the property.

In the warehouse that the investigated company had rented, more than 27 tons of fruit pulp were found which, after preliminary analyses carried out by the Ministry of Health, turned out not to be contaminated with any narcotic substance. It was distributed in 65 metal drums of 200 kilos and 1,216 boxes with 24 packages of 500 grams each.

In the other searches, three vehicles, numerous electronic devices, documents and cash were seized.

The detainees have been placed at the disposal of the duty investigating courts of the towns of Alicante, Elda and Novelda.