The Civil Guard has arrested 17 people in Tenerife and Lanzarote, accused of being part of a network dedicated to drug trafficking. Among those arrested in Operation Chaleco are 11 Guineans, 4 Spaniards, 1 Senegalese and 1 Cape Verdean. Although the organization was based in the Canary Islands, it had connections in different European countries.
As the Civil Guard explains in a statement, the operation began last year, "after becoming aware of the criminal activity of an organization dedicated to the distribution of heroin on the island of Tenerife, which had created great social alarm."
As a result of the investigations, the agents identified the leader of the group, resident on the island of Lanzarote and manager of a call center where, according to the agents, "continuous shipments of drugs from different European countries were received."
This person was in charge of recruiting "mules or human couriers" to transport and introduce the drug into the Canary Islands, "using different stopovers at national and international airports, including boat trips between the different islands of the archipelago, in order to evade possible police controls."
Seven searches and 5 kilos of drugs seized
The Civil Guard carried out a total of seven searches, in which they seized 3.5 kilos of heroin, 1.5 kilos of cocaine and 5 kilos of cutting substance for adulterating the drug. In addition, they also found 34,650 euros in cash, 30,000 Guinean francs in cash, 1 Tasser (electric weapon), 1 extendable defense, 3 defense sprays, 1 vehicle, as well as numerous items for preparing drug doses.
With these arrests, the Civil Guard considers "the organization to be completely dismantled", highlighting that during the operation "two important drug retail outlets located in La Laguna and Santa Cruz de Tenerife have been dismantled."
According to them, "due to the connections that the network maintained with different European countries, throughout the investigation it has been necessary to maintain a constant and fluid exchange of information between the Civil Guard and Europol."
The investigation has been carried out by Civil Guard agents specializing in investigations against organized crime, who have had the support of other Units of the Tenerife and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria Commands and of Reserve and Security Groups of the same Corps.
