A shipment linked to a drug trafficking network operating through Alicante involved 560 kilograms of cannabis hidden inside a container that also carried about ten tons of used clothing. The interception occurred in December, when Civil Guard and Customs Surveillance teams detected the operation at the port of Gran Canaria and launched a coordinated surveillance effort that drew inspectors from the Alicante port to an industrial area in Ceutí, Murcia. There, twelve individuals aged 18 to 52, including the lead organizer, were arrested during the receipt of the drugs on December 4. The pattern of travel between Las Palmas and Alicante to ship and receive the container was confirmed by Civil Guard authorities the following day.
The operation, named Operation Inertia, began after authorities within the Tax Office’s Civil Guard and Customs Surveillance identified a suspicious 40-foot container as the source of departure. The container originated in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and was destined for the port of Alicante, from which it would travel by road to a business park in Ceutí, Murcia.
Risk analysis
The cache was uncovered through a thorough process of surveillance, monitoring, and risk assessment conducted by security units. The Financial Analysis and Investigation Unit, known as UDAIF, attached to the Civil Guard at the Port of La Luz in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, played a crucial role in the analysis that led to the seizure.
Approximately 560 kilograms of cannabis were declared for shipment on a 40-foot container that, in truth, carried ten tons of used clothing bound for the port of Alicante. This discrepancy triggered the coordinated response that culminated in the arrest of the twelve individuals involved.
The organization also employed a freight company to move the container toward its final destination in Ceuti. Civil Guard and Customs Surveillance inspectors conducted a prudent, staged monitoring effort from the moment the container arrived at the port of Alicante until it was transferred to the consignee’s control.
When the container first arrived at Alicante, it was picked up by the same person who had originally sent it from the Canary Islands, a detail confirmed by the authorities involved in the case.
Counter surveillance
Investigators from the Instituto Armado and Customs Surveillance determined the counter-surveillance measures used at the destination by the recipients of the shipment. The suspects maintained near total control of the industrial site where the cargo was to be delivered. After a failed attempt to retrieve the container on December 2, the shipping company finally succeeded in transferring the cargo to a vessel three days later at the Los Torraos industrial area in Ceuti.
Despite tight security, the alleged traffickers could not anticipate the presence of Civil Guard investigators awaiting transfer to the courthouse. The rapid police deployment allowed the arrest of twelve individuals in connection with the delivery of a container that contained more than half a ton of marijuana.
Home records
The inspection extended beyond the port. A search of a Malaga bar uncovered signs linking the individuals to the origin and destination of the drugs. Investigators found foreign license plates and registration documents tied to a navigator who had shipped other containers from Las Palmas de Gran Canaria using nautical GPS coordinates. This evidence suggested that the organization may have dispatched additional stashes in the past, disguising them as legitimate commercial goods.
The anti-drug operation was conducted by the Organic Division of the Las Palmas Judicial Police, in conjunction with the Las Palmas Financial Company UDAIF and the Las Palmas and Alicante Customs Surveillance, with support from the Murcia, Alicante, and Malaga Civil Guard Commands. All detainees were kept in custody and presented before the competent court on December 7 in Molina de Segura, where the lead organizer was formally arrested.