Five arrested for bringing 150 kilos of cocaine hidden in double funds of furniture from South America into Algeciras

The Spanish Civil Guard, within the framework of operation “IROKO”, has dismantled a criminal organization dedicated to the introduction of cocaine into Spain from Panama. In total, five people have been arrested and 150 kilograms of cocaine have been seized in the port of Algeciras.

The operation began in July 2023 after the interception in the port of Algeciras of a container in which 150 kilos of cocaine were found. The drugs were hidden in double bottoms made in different types of furniture that arrived at the port of Algeciras from Panama.

From that moment, the investigators began to analyze all the information, discovering that the organization used company screens to transport the containers. 

The first phase of the investigation involved the identification and arrest of three people, residents of the Valencian Community, as responsible for the transfer of the containers. According to what was learned during the investigation, the container was going to be transferred to Barcelona from Algeciras so that, once the drugs were unloaded, it would be transported to its final destination in Valencia.

In a second phase of the investigation, the agents identified and arrested, also in the Valencian Community, two other members of the organization who carried out the function of providing security for the containers during their transfers. Two home searches were carried out where a plantation with more than 250 marijuana plants was located.

Some of the members of this organization had been hiding in Colombia to prevent their location. One of the detainees even had a cellar built in his own home specifically prepared for hiding.   

The operation has been carried out by civil guards from the Organic Unit of the Judicial Police (UOPJ) of the Algeciras and Barcelona Commands.

The investigation has been directed by the Investigative Court No. 1 of Algeciras and coordinated by the Anti-Drug Prosecutor’s Office of Campo de Gibraltar.

The detainees, along with the proceedings carried out, were placed at the disposal of the Judicial Authority, which ordered their imprisonment without bail.