LAVOZDELANZAROTE.COM
Agents of the National Police Corps attached to the Superior Headquarters of the Police of the Canary Islands, have recently completed two operations against drug trafficking in Arrecife in which 15 people dedicated to the introduction, cutting and distribution of cocaine in Lanzarote have been arrested.
According to this newspaper, the detainees managed to introduce the drug on the island thanks to the use of suitcases with false bottoms, one of the most favorable and usual tactics among criminals for the distribution of narcotics.
The work of prevention and surveillance carried out by the Narcotics Group of the Arrecife National Police Station, with the collaboration of officials from the Coslada (Madrid) Police Station and the U.D.Y.C.O. of Tenerife, bore fruit after two years of investigation within the framework of the so-called "PUCHERO" operation, when it became known that an individual of Colombian nationality, Juan Gabriel C.T., 31 years old and without a criminal record, was engaged in the introduction of significant quantities of cocaine and that after the arrest of several gangs dedicated to the same activity, he decided to leave the island, moving to Tenerife and Madrid, where he continued with his illicit activities.
After a year of absence, his presence was detected again in Arrecife, verifying that, despite lacking work activity, he enjoyed a comfortable life, owned several recently acquired cars and traveled often to Madrid, where he had rented a chalet in a residential area.
The police investigation allowed to discover the participation in these facts of other people who helped him and collaborated with him in the distribution of cocaine and who turned out to be direct relatives: his mother, Rita T. C., 49 years old, with two criminal records, her brothers, Luis Felipe T. C., 51, without a criminal record and Paula Jimena T. C., 29 years old, as well as Juan Gabriel's wife, Nini Johann L. C., 24 years old, all of them Colombians.
It was also learned that the detainee managed his "businesses" from Madrid and had opened two "distribution branches" in the Canary Islands, one in Lanzarote, managed by his mother and his uncle, and another in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, headed by his sister Paula Jimena.
The police operation arranged allowed to detect the presence on the island of Juan Gabriel when he intended to introduce two kilos of cocaine of great purity, being arrested in the act, as well as the entire family group and other people who collaborated with the previous ones and who turned out to be Alberto Manuel R. P., 39 years old, native of Arrecife, without a criminal record, Alexis P. F., 28 years old, native of Pontevedra, with a criminal record for the same crime and José Daniel S. B., 42, native of Las Palmas.
Two home searches were carried out, one in Madrid and another in Arrecife, in which two laboratories for the treatment and adulteration of cocaine, substances and utensils for the same, two vehicles, 13,000 euros in cash, telephones and documentation were seized, and a total of eight people were arrested who, together with the proceedings instructed, were placed at the disposal of the Judicial Authority, which ordered the imprisonment of all of them.
Operation "Lenses"
The second operation, called "LENSES", began three months ago when the presence on the island of a Colombian citizen, named Arlet M. N., 27 years old, without a criminal record, who led a very comfortable life, dedicated to parties, was known, verifying that he was related to individuals also Colombians who had already been arrested for drug trafficking.
Likewise, he was related to Francisco O. M., 28 years old, and the father of this Francisco O. G., 60 years old, both natives of Cordoba and without a criminal record, who were being investigated for illicit drug activities.
The first two made frequent trips throughout the national territory, despite lacking work activity, and it became known that they intended to introduce a certain amount of drugs on the island in the coming Christmas season, so a police device was prepared that resulted in the arrest of the three mentioned, to whom three kilos of cocaine of great purity, three recently purchased vehicles, 3,000 euros and very diverse documentation were seized.
In addition, four more people were arrested, Miguel Ángel C. Q., 22 years old, Juan Manuel C.Q., 24, Juan Carlos C.Q., 38, the three Colombians, and Roberto G. P., 43, native of Vigo, all of them without a criminal record, as collaborators and participants in illegal activities.
The seven detainees were placed at the disposal of the Judicial Authority, which ordered the imprisonment of five of them, considering both gangs dismantled and the police operation closed.
