Spanish Police Bust Smugglers Shipping Cocaine in Industrial Machines
Spain’s Policía Nacional working in coordination with the Tax Authority reports it has conducted a series of arrests breaking up a gang smuggling cocaine hidden in industrial machinery from South America aboard ships arriving at Spanish ports. The bust captured 334 kilos of cocaine.
The industrial machinery was transported to Spain aboard containerships from Costa Rica. Two containers were intercepted in December after they were offloaded and moved to a warehouse in Valencia. Police raided the warehouse and released a video of teams cutting into the machinery.
????Desarticulada una organización criminal con #AgenciaTributaria por importar gran cantidad de cocaína desde Sudamérica oculta en piezas de maquinaria retroexcavadora
— Policía Nacional (@policia) January 29, 2025
Nueve detenidos, ocho han ingresado en prisión y practicadas seis entradas y registros en #Alicante y #Valencia pic.twitter.com/X5YtBjuOSL
Police also recovered 299 packets each with three kilos of methamphetamine and €25,000in cash. Six raiders were carried out across Spain resulting in the arrest of nine people on drug traffic charges.
Detailing the operation, the police said it began in May 2024 when an investigation was launched into stolen motorhomes. During the search, the police uncovered documents relating to drug trafficking. They believe the gang planned to resell the motorhomes.
As the investigation progressed, with the help of authorities in Colombia, a shipment of 13 kilos of cocaine destined for Spain was intercepted. It culminated in December when the two containers were offloaded and identified linking them to the gang.
Police reported that one of the nine individuals arrested had been using false Portuguese papers since 2019. The individual had a previous prison sentence in Spain for drug trafficking. They are not ruling out additional arrests reporting that one individual remains a fugitive after the raids.