Thirty-two people were arrested in two anti-drug operations that made it possible to dismantle international drug trafficking networks Exported cannabis to Sweden and other European countries. 750 kilos of cannabis and 250 “María” plants were seized in one action, and 1,490 cannabis plants in the other. Arrests and searches were carried out Benidorm, El Albir, La Nucía, Almoradí, Torrevieja, Orihuela Costa, Alicante Castellón, France and Sweden.
One of the interventions was the joint operation of the National Police with the Swedish Police and Europol, whose members arrested 19 people in the two countries and France.
The organization is of Swedish origin and is dedicated to drug trafficking by road between Spain and Sweden. For this they used a truck to transport it and one of them Caught with 44kg of hash in Castellón That they put it in legal goods in a warehouse in La Nucía.
According to the police, this operation started because of a money laundering investigation conducted in Sweden between 2019 and 2020. The investigations made it possible to identify those responsible for one of these networks that smuggled drugs between Spain and Sweden. members settled in the province of Alicante. Marina Baixa and Vega Baja.
Since then, several European investigative orders have been processed by the National Court, and in September last year the investigation began in Spain, which is already being investigated in Sweden.
The persons under investigation initially bought from goods purchased in Spain. exported to other countries by trucks. They introduced the drug in these vehicles and transported it by road using the cover of the supporting documents for the transportation of the goods in question.
Representatives identified three posts with these characteristics. They intervened first. 250 kilos of cannabis in Gothenburg Detected, in second place, to Sweden 300 kilos in Stockholm cannabis and intervened in the last 162 kilos in Bordeaux marijuana
In February of this year, four members of the organization were apprehended in the Scandinavian country, when enough evidence against the main investigators was gathered. Another person was arrested in Spain and under a European arrest warrant issued by Sweden.
A few weeks later a new drug shipping carried out by Lithuanian carrier network pertaining to the institution under review. Once the transport was identified, a surveillance and tracking device was launched. Drivers stopped, especially in the province of Alicante. On a ship from La Nucíaand then they left the goods there to put them back in the truck.
Investigators suspected that a new shipment of narcotics was being made in La Nucía, ready to be distributed to other European countries, so the truck was tracked and it was decided to stop it when it arrived in the city of Castellón de la Plana. When they inspected the cargo, they found they were hiding 44 pounds of marijuana, so the drivers were arrested.
The next day, the rest of those involved in the delivery of the drugs were found and the home was searched, where it was confirmed that an “indoor” cannabis crop had actually been planted inside the home. the police captured 250 cannabis plants and eight pounds of pre-picked marijuana buds. This operation remains open and other networks involved in this type of transport continue to be explored.
Agents in the second operation Anti-Drugs and Organized Crime Branch 1st Group (UDYCO) busted down a criminal organization dedicated to growing cannabis in Benidorm, El Albir, La Nucía and Almoradi; this drug was later distributed throughout Europe.
The operation ended in the complete dissolution of the organization, with the arrest of 13 people, all of Albanian nationality, except for 13 women and 10 men aged between 18 and 51, and a Spanish woman. nationality. Those arrested were defended by the majority Francisco Miguel Galiana Botella’s law firm, They were brought before the courts in Benidorm, and three of the principal detainees were ordered to go to jail.
Police began investigations after learning of the existence of a criminal organization based in Benidorm and its environs that could grow cannabis for later distribution to other European countries. Suspicions were confirmed after information was received about a possible illegal electrical connection.
The information came from one of the electricity distribution companies that cooperated closely with the State Security Forces and Agency in detecting fraud in electricity supply. Information provided by the power company showed excessive electricity consumption with losses in the grid from several industrial buildings and homes in Benidorm; Therefore, the agencies launched an investigation to shed light on this excessive consumption, which normally corresponds to illegal electrical connections. cannabis plantations, as found later.
Police identified 13 alleged members of the organization and discovered cannabis cultivation in several places. Houses and industrial buildings in Benidorm, La Nucía, El Albir and Almoradí. A few weeks ago, the inspection phase began with eight entries and registrations in the homes and industrial buildings inspected. Agents arrested 13 suspects and conducted a search in Benidorm, three in La Nucía, one in El Albir and one in Almoradí.
Records include a high-quality motorcycle, including 1,490 advanced and flowering cannabis plants, 350 grams of cannabis buds, 7,000 euros in cash, three vehicles used by detainees to transport drugs – including a small truck. extreme water and a large number of tools for the cultivation and processing of these narcotic substances.