Agents of the National Police have seized a ton of cocaine of the highest purity in a luxury villa in Tenerife, in what is the largest seizure on the islands carried out on a Spanish criminal organization. In the framework of this operation a total of nine people have been arrested, seven of them belonging to this organization composed of Spanish citizens, in addition to the capture of an important Colombian drug trafficker who acted as a notary of the network of origin and an Italian criminal, liaison of the mafia in our country, who was trying to open new markets in Spain.
In addition, eight searches have been carried out in the provinces of Tenerife, Lanzarote, Malaga and Seville, in which 9 vehicles, 12,000 euros in cash, a money counting machine, frequency inhibitors, location devices, a drone and an arsenal of knives have been seized.
The operation began months ago when agents became aware of the existence of an organization, of Spanish origin, dedicated to the distribution of cocaine shipments from South America, with ramifications in the provinces of Malaga, Seville, the islands of Lanzarote and Tenerife.
Vehicle with 100 kilograms of cocaine in the trunk
The investigators detected an increase in the activity of the organization due to the meeting of the main members of the same with other members who arrived from Malaga. The latter had rented a vehicle and the agents were able to verify how they accessed with it to one of the guarded houses, next to a high-end car that was doing counter-surveillance functions. Given the suspicion that they could be transporting some type of narcotic substance, the agents decided to stop them, at which point the drivers decided to flee, although they were intercepted, and showed great resistance to police action. After opening the trunk of the rental vehicle, the investigators found four sports bags with 100 kilograms of cocaine inside. As a result of this finding, minutes later, the leaders of the organization were arrested.
950 kilos of cocaine in a luxury villa
In parallel, the luxury villa in which the 100 kilos of cocaine had been loaded was searched, in the town of Barranco Hondo (Santa Cruz de Tenerife) and two members who were inside guarding 950 kilograms of cocaine were arrested, which were seized by the agents. To enter this house, the intervention of the GOES was necessary due to the dangerousness of the criminals.
Subsequently, eight new searches were carried out in the provinces of Tenerife, Lanzarote, Malaga and Seville, in which 9 vehicles, 12,000 euros in cash, a money counting machine, frequency inhibitors, location devices, a drone and an arsenal of knives have been seized.
Although the investigated tried to hide from the action of justice, finally the arrest of the seven people who formed this organization was achieved. In addition, an important Colombian drug trafficker was arrested, who had traveled to the island of Tenerife days before, as a notary of the organization of origin, to ensure that the distribution of cocaine was carried out and collect the money agreed to the sale for their bosses. Likewise, an Italian citizen was arrested, with links to the mafia of that country, who had traveled to Spain, to open new markets in our country.
With this operation, this organization is dismantled and the seizure of a historical cache in the Canary Islands has been carried out, the largest recorded to date. The nine detainees have been imprisoned.