Spanish Civil Guard arrest 19 people for bringing drugs from Brazil into Andalusia

The Civil Guard, as part of Operation “Nazarí 91 Ali-Atar”, has arrested 19 people in the province of Granada for crimes including membership in a criminal organization, drug trafficking, and illegal possession of firearms. The organization also operated in Málaga, Seville, Córdoba, and Jaén.

The ringleader was arrested upon his return to Spain on a flight from a South American country at Málaga airport. In addition, 18 of those arrested have been remanded in custody.

The organization acquired the drugs in Brazil and smuggled them into the Iberian Peninsula through Portugal, hidden in shipping containers. They transported them to various locations in the province of Málaga and from there moved them to Loja (Granada).

Once in the province of Granada, they hid the drugs in a secret compartment built in a garage owned by the head of the organization. Access was via one of the building’s two elevators, where a numerical code, known only to him, had to be entered on a panel.

From that hideout, the organization distributed cocaine to the rest of its members, concealing it in the backs of vehicle seats and in other false bottoms.

During the investigation, it was confirmed that in addition to distributing them, they were also engaged in direct sales to the end consumer.

On the other hand, a laboratory for so-called “pink cocaine” has been detected for the first time in the province of Granada.

Thirty-one premises and homes in those five provinces have been searched, in which almost 19 kilograms of cocaine, seven kilograms of hashish, 500 grams of methamphetamines, 727 marijuana plants in different stages of flowering, two kilograms of packaged marijuana, around four kilograms of cutting substance for mixing with cocaine and 118 capsules of anabolic steroids have been seized.

In addition, more than €200,000 in cash, ten vehicles, six handguns, five bladed weapons, an air rifle, a taser, and a wire and lead baton were seized. Furthermore, as part of the investigation into alleged money laundering, 17 properties in various provinces were seized and 20 bank accounts were frozen, with a combined value of nearly €2 million.