22 members of a criminal organization dedicated to large-scale drug trafficking arrested in Almería

Joint operation of the Tax Agency and the National Police

• They operated with fast boats to 'save' the drugs from the high seas to the coast of Granada and Almería and delivered the narcotic to any point on the peninsula with the 'go fast' method.
• 745 kilos of hashish, 2,600 ecstasy pills, cocaine, glass, two pleasure boats have been seized and a marijuana plantation has been dismantled.
• Those arrested, nine of whom have been imprisoned, are accused of allegedly being responsible for the crimes of drug trafficking, membership in a criminal organization and electricity fraud.

June 11, 2022.- Customs Surveillance Officials of the Tax Agency, in a joint operation with agents of the National Police, have arrested 22 members of a criminal organization dedicated to large-scale drug trafficking. They operated with fast boats to 'lift' the drugs from the high seas to the coast of Granada and Almería and delivered the narcotic to any point on the peninsula with the 'go fast' method. 745 kilos of hashish, 2,600 ecstasy pills, cocaine, crystal, two pleasure boats have been seized and a marijuana plantation has been dismantled. Those arrested, nine of whom have been imprisoned, are accused of allegedly being responsible for the crimes of drug trafficking, membership in a criminal organization and electricity fraud.

The investigation, which included the collaboration of the Civil Guard in the first phase, began in October of last year. The agents found out that several people, in the province of Almería, linked to recreational boats, could be linked to the transport of hashish to the Almería coast and that they would have made their mission of 'storing' drugs their way of life.

The agents' investigations detected that the organization, once it reached the coast with the boats loaded with the narcotic, was received by a large group of people who began unloading bundles of burlap with the narcotic, and then hidden them in a van. who quickly left the place along rural roads and between greenhouses to try to avoid possible surveillance and monitoring.

In this first phase, a boat was detected that, after heading at high speed to the coast, ran aground on the Alcazaba beach, where those in charge of unloading the narcotic and the transporters were located, the pilots of the boat and five were arrested. people more. During the operation, the van carrying 720 kilos of hashish hidden in 24 bales was intercepted in a greenhouse area.

From fast boats to 'go fast'

After the previous operation, the investigators realized the great capacity of the organization to readapt to the police coup and be able to continue with its criminal activity, finding out that the method they used from that moment on was the one known as 'go fast'.

Using this method, using large displacement vehicles arranged in a caravan with distributed functions - one as a 'shuttle' with security functions and another loaded with the narcotic -, they transported drugs from different points in Andalusia to Catalan provinces. These journeys, surrounded by strong security measures, were made at high speed and without stops, from collection point to delivery point.

A 'daycare' run by a couple

The efforts carried out by the agents made it possible to locate a 'daycare' at the home of a couple who were members of the organization, which was located in the Almería municipality of La Mojonera, as well as a marijuana plantation. With all the information collected, five entries and searches were finally carried out in several municipalities of Almería –Vícar, Roquetas de Mar, El Ejido and La Mojonera–.

During the searches, carried out with extensive police force, 25 kilos of hashish, 2,600 ecstasy pills, 57 grams of cocaine and 43 grams of crystal were seized. A blank revolver with ammunition, 18 mobile telephone devices, more than 5,000 euros in cash, as well as all the material located in the marijuana plantation, have also been seized.

In addition to the seven arrests carried out in the first phase, during this second phase, 15 arrests of Russian and Spanish nationalities were made. The 22 arrested have been placed at the disposal of the judicial authority as presumed responsible for the crimes of drug trafficking, membership in a criminal organization and electricity fraud, nine of them entering prison.