A joint operation by the National Police, the Civil Guard and the Tax Agency has led to the dismantling of an important criminal organization, which for years has been introducing drugs into the Canary archipelago. The agents have arrested 14 people, four of them in Lanzarote, and have seized 1,225 kilograms of hashish, 1,400 grams of cocaine, 960 amphetamine pills, 1.1 grams of crack, 8 ampoules of anabolic steroids, as well as 2,325 euros in cash, jewelry and utensils for the adulteration and manufacture of the drug.
The detainees are part of the so-called "Patamocha Clan", which operated throughout the archipelago. The criminal organization had expanded its network of influence in recent years and, according to the Police, had extended its ramifications to the island of Lanzarote. In fact, within the framework of this operation, the agents frustrated the landing of 690 kilograms of drugs on the island in June 2014.
The Civil Guard and the National Police initiated separate parallel operations in principle, whose objectives later converged. Thus, since the end of 2013, the two security forces have worked together, collaborating and providing reciprocal support, something they currently also do with the Tax Agency within the framework of the fight against drug trafficking in the Canary Islands.
The "Patamocha Clan"
The objective of the operation focused on an organized group that, according to the National Police, has been dedicated for years to introducing large shipments of hashish from Morocco, as well as distributing large quantities of cocaine and crack mainly in the capital's neighborhoods of La Isleta and Zárate. There, "they distributed more than one kilogram of that drug a week among small drug dealers and consumers," the Corps adds.
The organization was known as the "Patamocha Clan" and its leadership was made up of members of the same family. The Clan, however, had increased its influence in recent times, with ramifications on the island of Lanzarote and "close ties with other Maghreb drug trafficking organizations." Thus, they came to incorporate numerous members outside the family into the clan, in secondary functions.
14 detainees after a long investigation
The police operation, which culminated with the arrest of a total of 14 members of the organization, was carried out in several phases. Among them, the agents frustrated an attempt to land hashish on the Island of Lanzarote between June 8 and 9, 2014 and another in the north of Gran Canaria between May 23 and 24, 2014. In those landings, 690 and 510 kilograms of drugs were seized respectively.
The operation finally concluded with the arrest of the person in charge of the organization, when he had just acquired a brick of cocaine weighing one kilogram, for its immediate cutting and distribution by other members of the organization, now also arrested.
This operation has been carried out by the Drug and Organized Crime Unit of the National Police of Las Palmas (UDYCO), the Organized Crime and Anti-Drug Team of the Civil Guard of Las Palmas (EDOA) and the Tax Agency.