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Spanish Civil Guard has dismantled a network that trafficked cocaine in hidden compartments in passenger cars

The Spanish Civil Guard has dismantled a drug trafficking network that transported cocaine in hidden compartments in cars between Madrid and Cantabria. A total of eleven people have been arrested, ten of whom are already in prison. They transported the drugs from a nursery in Alcalá de Henares to different points in the province of Cantabria in several vehicles with the capacity to hold 20 kilos of cocaine, completely hidden in each car.The first shipment intercepted by the Civil Guard was last October with the seizure of 5 kilos of cocaine that were being transported on board a vehicle travelling on the A-67 from Madrid. In this operation, the first two members of the criminal group occupying the vehicle were arrested and, after being brought before the court, were sent to prison.

Since last October and until January 10, various arrests have been made, reaching a total of eleven alleged members of the criminal organization under investigation.

The arrests were made in the Cantabrian towns of Camargo, Cartes, Piélagos, Santander, Santoña and Villaescusa, as well as in Alcalá de Henares in the Community of Madrid. Several properties were also searched in Alcalá de Henares, Leganés, Cartes, Piélagos, Santander and Villaescusa.

The so-called “Tiberio” operation has been concluded with a total of 7.5 kilos of cocaine and one kilo of cannabis seized, the seizure of 135,000 euros, the dismantling of an “indoor” marijuana plantation in a house in Leganés with 109 marijuana plants, a handgun, ammunition and other types of prohibited weapons, as well as utensils for cutting drugs prior to their sale.

The house used as a “nursery” for the drugs and where they were cut, in Alcalá de Henares, has also been located. Two sales points have been neutralised, one of them located in Carandía in the municipality of Piélagos and in Villanueva de Villaescusa.

The logistics of the criminal organization under investigation allowed them to have at least three vehicles with false bottoms, estimating that the hidden spaces could hold up to 20 kg of the seized prohibited substance.

On January 2, two alleged members of the criminal organization under investigation were arrested, one considered co-leader of the plot and the other his trusted person. Both have been on the run and in hiding since the last police intervention in December, and are currently in prison. 

The second of the alleged co-leaders of the criminal organization was an inmate at the El Dueso penitentiary, from where he controlled the movements of the criminal network. He was arrested this past Friday, January 10.

The actions have been carried out within the framework of proceedings opened by the Court of Instruction No. 1 of Santander competent in the case and under the direction of the Anti-Drug Prosecutor’s Office of Cantabria. The police actions carried out have had the support of the Command of the Civil Guard of Madrid, as well as the support of the Central Operative Unit (UCO) given the complexity and dangerousness of the criminal organization neutralized.

This anti-drug operation by the Civil Guard of Cantabria is the second to be completed in a short period of time. In the previous one, in December, 600 kilos of cocaine were seized, thereby managing to interrupt important supplies of cocaine and uncovering organisations dedicated to drug trafficking with large quantities of narcotics.