Eight of the twelve detainees in the Munari operation were confined at midnight by order of the Cambados judge investigating the narcolanchas case. Among the arrested are Ramón Bugallo Martínez, known as Mon, and one of his sons. Bugallo Martínez is the cousin of the veteran Cambado drug trafficker José Ramón Prado Bugallo, nicknamed Sito Miñanco.
The judge has charged all twelve individuals with smuggling and offenses against the state, including public health violations. A series of injunctions followed, with a curfew imposed for those who were released. The proceedings center on Spain.
Munari aimed to disrupt several imminent drug shipments. The organization had assembled nearly half a dozen speedboats across hubs in Arousa, Salamanca, Madrid, Barcelona and northern Portugal. The vessels, dismantled in the past week, were ready for departure. Investigators found them covered with white tarps in multiple locations, notably at a shipyard in northern Portugal.
The operation received coordination support from US agents on Wednesday, with Civil Guard, the National Police and the Customs Surveillance Agency working together with the Court of First Instance and Order No. 4 of Cambados. In total, 21 people were arrested, including 12 in Galicia, primarily in O Salnés, and 23 vessels in various stages of construction were seized. Powerful engines and other equipment were also seized to hinder the network.
An image of the arrest convoy shows an inspector disembarking from the prisoner transfer bus. Inaki Abella
Nine of the 21 detainees were released at the police station on Thursday, reportedly as pawn figures within the organization. The remaining twelve were brought before the Criminal Court of First Instance on Friday morning, under Cambados Order No. 4. They testified before Magistrate Luz María Fernández de Landa and Pontevedra state anti-drug prosecutor Pablo Varela, aided by counsel and under Civil Guard oversight.
After 11:30 p.m. on Friday, the judge ordered eight of the twelve detainees to remain in temporary prison without bail. The other four were released but had their passports withdrawn and were prohibited from leaving the country, with a duty to appear in court when summoned. An inquiry was opened on charges of smuggling, membership of a criminal organization, and offenses against public health, with ongoing developments.
Among those under investigation in Munari are Ramón Bugallo Martínez, known as Mon, the cousin of the renowned Cambadé trafficker Sito Miñanco, and Pablo V., a 34-year-old from Vilanova who has no prior offenses. The records indicate that he occupied a central position within the organization’s hierarchy.
Munari stands as the largest maritime drug trafficking logistics operation ever uncovered. A precedent of comparable scale appears in the 2009 Tabaiba case, again overseen by the Cambados courts.
On this occasion, fewer boats were captured, yet the organization’s core network of narcolancheros linked to caches was effectively dismantled. An important facet of Munari is the involvement of glider manufacturers who supplied multiple groups engaged in drug trafficking, primarily cannabis movement between Morocco and Spain via the Strait of Gibraltar. During the operation, investigators seized computers, mobile devices, and other documents that could illuminate buyers of the Narcolanchas. This information is expected to assist state security forces in suppressing clan activity in the south of Spain in the near to mid term.
The disbanded network is said to have specialized in building speedboats for drug traffickers and transporting cargo by sea or land. Where needed, the parts were sourced from Portugal, where shipbuilding regulations were more permissive. In Spain, boats longer than eight meters have been banned since 2018, whereas Portugal did not impose the same limit, prompting some suspects to complete glider construction on Portuguese soil.
The operation unfolded on Wednesday, with the earliest arrests and records. Teams acted in parallel to prevent flight and preserve evidence, aided by two helicopters and a trained dog unit.
In Cambados, investigators arrested Sito Miñanco’s cousin and one of his sons, while in Vilanova two cousins tied to a mechanical workshop were detained. The seized device was moved to nearby Ribadumia and Meaño to access ships and hangars where gliders were stored for the final customers. Meaño saw a large deployment at a warehouse whose façade bears the mark of a stone industry company, with dozens of Civil Guard officers and National Police on duty for most of the morning. Ribadumia saw another intervention at an unsigned rural warehouse by the Umia river. Searches uncovered boats mounted on vehicles and assemblies of powerful outboard motors stacked in construction phases. A boat was even found inside a truck bed, seemingly ready for delivery to buyers.
The operation spanned four Spanish autonomous communities and a dozen jurisdictions in northern Portugal, with Eurojust’s involvement crucial to coordinating Cambados’ orders.
Family support for detainees in Salamanca was evident as the Civil Guard transported prisoners from Pontevedra Command to Cambados by bus. The court complex was accessed a few minutes after nine in the morning, with the trial file declassified and defense lawyers reviewing documents before meeting their clients. Prosecution work began in the afternoon with the arrival of the lead prosecutor. Families from Salamanca joined relatives outside the courthouse, braving wind and rain as they waited. Some shouted encouragement while urging detainees to face the process with their faces uncovered as they exited the bus to enter the courthouse.
Related posts:
Bruno Munari: A Cross-Disciplinary Vision in Spanish Arenas Bruno Munari Exhibition: A Cross-Disciplinary Genius in Spain Exhibition overview: Bruno Munari at MACA and beyond El Campello Civil Guard Dismantles Drug Ring and Illicit Crypto Farm Una historia de un sacerdote Salesiano y un caso de abuso sexual “Civil Guard Disbands Nazare Operation Targeting Piturros Clan” WEIGHT-WEIGHT: The Faruku Clan and a Global Cocaine Network Operation Endurance: Galician Arrests and Narcolancha Interceptions Rewrite of Aspe drug and disappearance case with updated details for readability Catalonia and Galicia Crackdown on Maritime Drug Trafficking and Leaks in Civil Guard Elche Drug Trafficking Case: Eight Arrested in Cocaine Network Susi Sánchez and Ramón Barea: A life in theatre, a shared horizon