Aborted the merger of the two most important criminal organizations in Campo de Gibraltar and Seville

Spanish Civil Guard agents, in a joint operation with the Spanish National Police, have dismantled the merger of the two most important criminal organizations in Campo de Gibraltar and Seville. There are 51 detained members of these two groups dedicated to drug trafficking and money laundering in Cádiz and Seville. The organizations were led by two important drug traffickers who had considered working together to obtain a greater number of economic benefits. More than 10,000 kilos of hashish have been seized, as well as stolen vehicles, firearms, eight drug ships, 12,000 liters of gasoline and 180,000 euros.

The investigation began in March 2020 when the agents of La Línea de la Concepción identified an individual who was circulating with a large amount of nautical material used in drug boats, as well as a significant amount of money hidden in his vehicle, that could be serving large criminal organizations.

Union of two important organizations

Following this lead, the agents found out that the main leader of an organization in the La Línea area, a well-known local drug trafficker – who is currently being searched for and captured for this and other similar events – given the strong police pressure in the area, he would have decided to establish new ties with another well-known criminal organization based in Seville. The network of the city of Seville was led by a man with a long history in matters related to drug trafficking and a specialist in introducing large quantities of drugs through the Guadalquivir River.

Both organizations had a large logistics network, through which they transported the semi-rigid boats and large displacement engines from outside Spain to industrial warehouses located in different locations in Seville and Córdoba, where they were prepared and guarded until the day of launching. All this logistics network required drivers of large-tonnage trucks, mechanics in charge of setting it up and preparing for its launch, pilots, boats and trucks with an economic value of more than half a million euros and used exclusively for these activities.

The launching of the boats was carried out under the supervision of the men of the Seville clan, who did not allow any other organization to interfere in their plans, exercising their power in said area of ​​influence, for which they had firearms. , bulletproof vests, electroshock weapons and other items to safeguard your launch operations. After this, the boats went to Morocco, where the load of the narcotic substance was produced, to later introduce it on the Spanish coasts, by means of the disembarkation or stashing method on the beach.

Due to the difficulty involved in the mouth of the Guadalquivir River, the organization had numerous personnel hired to carry out surveillance work in the area, as well as the work of extracting the drug from the boats. These people were transferred from La Línea and from the Seville area, with both organizations becoming involved, together with the members of the organization from the Sanlúcar de Barrameda area. Once the unloading of the cache was finished, they took the opportunity to stock up on gasoline and food, and on some occasions change the crew of the boat, in order to return to Morocco and start the cycle again.

3,500 kilos of hashish and seven arrested

After the investigation, it was possible to determine the location of the organization’s ships, as well as the trucks and trailers used to transport the boats and engines. In addition, it was possible to identify the vast majority of those involved, all of them members of both organizations, who had come together with the intention of joining forces, dividing up the functions and thus increasing their operability in the introduction of caches on the beach. As a result of these efforts, in November of last year, the investigators intercepted a first shipment of 3,500 kilos of hashish on the beaches of Huelva, when one of the organization’s boats tried to unload the narcotic substance in Lepe, being surprised at that moment by a joint device of the National Police and the Civil Guard in which seven people were arrested. These detainees were clearly related to the La Línea organization.

Continuing with the investigations, in the month of January 2022, two more people were arrested, and two other shipments were intercepted, this time at the mouth of the Guadalquivir River, with the total amount of 2,440 kilos of hashish, as well as four cargo vehicles. stolen and a firearm. Finally, on February 7, the organization tried to introduce a cache through two boats in the Port of the Atunara of La Línea de la Concepción, for which the agents established a device in which they managed to seize 4,000 kilograms of hashish and arrested three people who were guarding the narcotic substance in “nurseries”. The next day, the investigators completed the dismantling of the two most important criminal organizations in Campo de Gibraltar and Seville.

51 detainees and more than 10,300 kilos of hashish

As a result, so far 51 people have been arrested, of which 21 are in preventive detention; More than 10,300 kilos of hashish have been seized, as well as stolen vehicles, firearms, eight drug boats and a large amount of fuel (1,200 liters), also 180,000 euros in cash have been seized in the records.

During the investigations, the high purchasing power of the main responsible was verified, as well as a great economic capacity to plan the operations, since their infrastructure ranged from the place of concealment and preparation of the narco-boats in ships from different towns in Andalusia, their launching with heavy trucks. In addition, the members of the group were the ones who carried out all the activities related to drug trafficking, such as mechanics, truck drivers, boat pilots, personnel involved in unloading the caches and hiding the drug ship.

The investigators were also able to verify that part of the members of the organization were involved in the theft of narcotic substance using means and weapons to achieve it, called “overturns”. The agents intervened several firearms, bulletproof vests and elements to pass themselves off as police officers.