24 Narco arrests in Spain for plantation ring

The investigation has seized 1,000 kilos of marijuana buds and 37 kilos of cocaine; dismantle two laboratories for the processing and distribution of the drug; and three submachine guns and several pistols, as well as luxury goods for an amount of more than six million euros.

The organisation had a structure of companies in Spain, Colombia, Switzerland and Portugal to launder money from its criminal activities.

In addition, as a result of this operation, European investigation orders and letters rogatory have been issued to other countries. The organization had a structure of companies in Spain, Colombia, Switzerland and Portugal to launder money from its criminal activities. The police device, in which more than 200 officers have participated, has ended with the arrest of 24 people and the practice of 13 searches in the provinces of Madrid and Guadalajara.

The investigation began at the end of 2020 when the arrival in Madrid of several Mexican citizens, from Sinaloa, was detected, who quickly settled in different luxury homes. Soon after, the agents observed that the newcomers began to work on large marijuana plantations located in the province of Guadalajara, where they received repeated visits from people linked to drug trafficking.

A family clan linked to Mexican drug cartels

With the advance of the investigations, the agents identified a family clan, linked to Mexican drug cartels, which had introduced into our country more than ten million euros in cash and investment gold in order to settle in Spain. Those investigated began to buy dozens of luxury vehicles and high-end homes, as well as to acquire several businesses and form companies whose purpose, as would later be proven, was to channel the profits obtained from the sale of narcotic substances. Likewise, the members of the organization did not hesitate to buy wills from different staff members to help them settle down and obtain documentation.

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After several police efforts, it became evident that the family clan was related to people, both Spanish and foreign, with a history and convictions linked to the sale of narcotic substances, so that they made it easier for them to enter a new market that was not theirs.

They had marijuana plantations that they exploited through companies incorporated in Spain, Portugal and Switzerland.

At first, the network based its business model on setting up companies in Spain, Portugal and Switzerland for the exploitation of cannabis crops. In this sense, they had marijuana plantations in different provinces of Spain, whose purpose was the extraction of CBD products in laboratories in Switzerland and Portugal. After arduous efforts, the agents intervened 60 tons of plants, a fact that motivated the organization to invest in new cultivation systems based on the creation of containers with intelligent software that would allow them to obtain crops in less than three months. Some of the Mexican members of the criminal group tried to acquire this business for a significant sum of money, although the police actions frustrated it.

Subsequently, the researchers located several warehouses where the processed marijuana, which had been grown in large greenhouses of more than 4,000 square meters, was vacuum packed and distributed by different means to buyers, hiding it in double bottoms of tables and other furniture that they sent by parcels.

They introduced cocaine based on coffee packages through “mules”

In the course of the investigation, the agents detected the arrival in our country of people, from South America, whom the organization used as “mules” to introduce base cocaine into coffee packages. The drug was processed, packaged and screen printed in two laboratories in the province of Madrid and then sold to people who came from Croatia and the Netherlands with whom they had previously closed businesses. In addition, they also had other distribution networks through Chinese citizens and other vendors, located in different locations in Madrid, who even introduced the narcotic substance into prisons.

On the other hand, the investigation has shown an overwhelming movement of capital. They constantly changed homes (all of them luxury) and were engaged in the purchase and sale of jewelry and sports vehicles whose prices exceeded 500,000 euros. This was due to the laundering of the profits they obtained illegally and, in addition, it was a security measure to avoid being located in a specific area.

24 detainees and 13 searches in the provinces of Madrid and Guadalajara

In mid-May, the officers made a police device in which more than 200 troops participated. The operation allowed the complete dismantling of the organization and the arrest of its managers, locating in the home of the leader of the network a cocaine laboratory in the process of making more than 37 kilos of substance. During the operation, the Local Police of the Madrid town of Algete was also collaborated.

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They also carried out 13 searches in different locations in Madrid (8) and Guadalajara (5), and eight inspections in the provinces of Madrid (5) and Málaga (3). As a result of the searches, the agents intervened 1,000 kilos of marijuana buds, 37 kilos of cocaine, ten weapons, 105,116 euros in cash, as well as 17 vehicles and 4 homes (valued at seven million euros), among other effects. In addition, as a result of the operation, two laboratories for cocaine processing and two greenhouses for the cultivation of marijuana have been dismantled, and 20 bank accounts have been blocked.

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