93-year sentence for a gang that trafficked drugs in a fleet of sailboats in Lanzarote

The National Court has imposed sentences totaling 93 years in prison and just over ten million euros in fines on 13 people accused of forming a gang that trafficked drugs internationally, and who had a fleet of sailboats based in the Canary Islands to do so.

They are also considered responsible for the crimes of document forgery and bribery, a civil guard is disqualified for nine years and another of the accused is acquitted.

The ruling states that one of the operations intended to traffic 500 kilos of cocaine in the fuel tanks of various sailboats, some of them located in the islands, and to impregnate the sails of the boats.

The investigations determine that a detainee was one of the largest drug traffickers operating in the Spanish Levant and it was found that he traveled to Lanzarote, so police collaboration was requested from the island to carry out surveillance work.

Thus, it is verified that as soon as he arrived he went to La Marina marina, from where another of the accused directed a sailboat flying the flag of the Netherlands to load the merchandise at a point in the ocean, but, due to a mechanical failure, he had to return to the port area.

At the time, two tracking devices were installed on the sailboat that were located by members of the gang, so the accused confessed his concern to one of the infiltrated police officers and proceeded to get rid of them to mislead the investigators.

The members of the gang used an aesthetic clinic located in Madrid to carry out “large operations” of drug trafficking, according to information received from the United States that reflected that the director of this establishment and another person were preparing an import of cocaine.

At the time, some 600 kilos of this substance were seized in containers when they were in the Greek port of Thessaloniki, after which 19 people were arrested in Bulgaria, Colombia, the Netherlands and Spain.

In parallel, another organization arose that was dedicated to trafficking cocaine from South America, as well as hashish, with which they collaborated and among whom were private security guards, which allowed them to move freely during the coronavirus restrictions.

In the interventions in the homes, more than half a million euros and about 900 kilos of cocaine and adulterants were located.

In this way, the Court reaffirms a previous sentence also against an appeal presented by the convicts, who can now go to the Supreme Court.