In a joint operation, the National Police and the Civil Guard took down a criminal organization off the coast of Malaga by its members. ‘vuelcos’ – violent drug thefts from other drug dealers –. network members very severeused weapons of war and acted as agents of the Security Forces and Establishments in attacks, apparently with police vehicles.
Searches were made at two homes in Estepona and one in Mijas. Ten people were arrested for alleged participation in the events, nine in the towns of Estepona and Marbella in Malaga and one in the municipality of Cadiz in Ubrique. The events are known to the Estepona Court of First Instance and Order 1, which issued a provisional arrest warrant for six of those investigated.
operation called “Mermaid 21”It began based on some information that indicated that a criminal network based mainly on the west coast of Málaga state and branches in Cádiz would ‘overthrow’ other drug traffickers, using both short and firearms for that purpose. long and war as well as apparently police vehicles.
As a matter of fact, it was stated in the statement that the investigation started in June 2021 and has been carried out jointly from the beginning. National Police and Civil Guardwhen the investigations of the agents of both institutions merge into the same criminal network.
Investigations by agents focused the ringleader of the conspiracy on a house in Estepona. leader from a country, Eastern Europe, He was always armed and very difficult to catch. They detailed their police force. He used several IDs—for this he had forged national identity papers—and changed addresses and physical appearance frequently—cutting his hair, dyeing it, growing a beard or goatee.
Continuing the investigations, investigators were able to identify other members of the organization, and they had clearly different functions between them —guardians, carriers, surveillance jobs, among other duties–.
arrests
Focusing on the targets, the agents were tearing up the grid, making successive arrests. Thus, eight men and two women were arrested for their alleged responsibility. membership of a criminal organization, drug trafficking, document falsification, theft of motor vehicles and/or possession of illegal weapons.
Among those arrested was the leader of the conspiracy – he was carrying a ready-to-fire pistol at the time of his arrest – noting several criminal indictments: one by the Marbella Court for illegal possession of weapons; another from Granada State Court for drug trafficking; and the last one published for a crime against people by the Albanian authorities.
During the device, two searches were made of detached houses used as ‘creches’ in Estepona, as well as a property in Mijas where the conspiracy leader had temporarily resided. 70 kilos of hash, 1.6 kilos of cannabis, 5 vehicles –two stolen–, stolen license plates, guns, plenty of ammo, fake identity papers, handy for dealing drugs and performing “kills”, among other effects.