The Provincial Court of Las Palmas sentenced this Monday to penalties of between one and six and a half years in prison the eleven men accused of bringing cocaine and heroin from French Guiana to the Lanzarote airport, to later distribute the merchandise throughout the Islands, according to the newspaper LaProvincia.
During the trial held this Monday in Las Palmas, the alleged leader of the operations, his trusted person in charge of finding the people who transport the drugs known as 'mules', the three people who guarded the substances in their homes, another three drug dealers who sold retail, and the last three detainees who tried to enter Lanzarote with the merchandise hidden among their belongings or intimate parts, sat on the bench.
The prosecutor Antonio Amor maintained in his statement of accusation that the eleven men are accused of a crime against public health and another of belonging to a criminal group. In addition, the charge of belonging to a criminal gang was dropped against eight of the suspects and they were only charged with being perpetrators of a crime against public health.
Due to an agreement reached between all parties, the sentences have been reduced for the accused, taking into account that the Public Prosecutor's Office was requesting a sentence from nine to eleven years in prison.
Investigation of the "criminal gang"
According to the Prosecutor's Office's indictment, the Narcotics Group of the Local Brigade of the Judicial Police of the National Police in Arrecife investigated between August 2021 and April 2022 a group of people who allegedly profited from drug trafficking on the island. For which they made use of "human couriers or mules" who transported the drugs from the South American region to the Canary Island.
According to the Public Ministry, the accused Robinson.M.C. would be at the head of this plot. This person would have been in charge of acquiring the narcotic substance from Girona and Lanzarote, organizing its transport and distributing it throughout the island. In addition, he was allegedly the main recipient of the proceeds from the sale of drugs.
The Public Prosecutor's document assures that Robinson.M.C.'s trusted person was J.D.S, known as Antonio, resident on the island. In this case, Antonio allegedly was in charge of finding human couriers to transport the drugs.
Likewise, the Public Prosecutor's Office adds the accused A.C., S.B., S.B. who, together with Antonio, would have received and distributed the drugs throughout Lanzarote. To do this, they allegedly made use of different properties on the island as warehouses. Meanwhile, they would have distributed the substance retail on the island.
The last link in this chain, according to the Public Prosecutor's Office, were 2SB, M.D., known as Tcherno, and U.D., known as Puto. These last three are also accused of selling drugs on the island.
Drug transport on Vueling and Binter flights
In his indictment, the Public Prosecutor's Office has broken down the trips made by the accused A.V.G., A.S.M and V.B:
- A.V.G. is accused of introducing 100 capsules with 1,317.8 grams of cocaine with 79.32% purity in a backpack in Lanzarote from a Vueling flight, coming from Paris-Orly. The events date back to 09:35 on November 13, 2021. This substance would amount to a value of 134,240.5 euros in the illicit market.
- A.S.M. is accused of carrying 100 capsules of cocaine, weighing 998.38 grams, inside his body on a Binter flight between Gran Canaria and Lanzarote. The events date back to 11:20 a.m. on January 23, 2022. In total, its value was around 101,745.24 euros.
- V.B. is accused of carrying 51 capsules with 495.67 grams of heroin, with a purity of 38.84% on a Binter flight between Gran Canaria and Lanzarote. This substance would be equivalent to 37,393.45 euros.
Home search
As a result of this investigation, the Investigating Court number two of Arrecife authorized the search of a dozen properties. In this case, they entered the home where the alleged head of the plot resided, located in Girona. In it, 15 mobile phones, a laptop, 2,300 euros in cash and 766.9 grams of cocaine were seized in a suitcase.
The other properties seized were located one in Playa Honda and the rest in Arrecife. R.M.C. also stayed in the Playa Honda house when he was on the island. Several objects were seized in it, six mobile terminals, several packages with narcotic substances, scales and two Nigerian passports, among others.
In Antonio's house, located on Avenida de Los Geranios, they found half a kilogram of heroin, 13 mobile phones, laptops, passport and personal documentation in the name of J.D.S, as well as proof of bank deposits and a precision scale.
In S.B.'s residence, several packages of cocaine and heroin, three mobile phones, a hard drive, two precision weights and 7,594.38 euros in cash were also found.
Thus, in the property of S.E. 22 mobile phones, cocaine, a tablet, a computer, as well as notebooks and notebooks with handwritten notes, three passports in the name of S.B. and a Belgian identity card, among others, were also seized.
In the residences of A.C., S.B., Tcherno and Puto they also located bags of cocaine, cannabis resin, mobile phones, several watches, as well as precision scales and cash.
