Agents of the National Police, in a joint operation with the German BKA and ZKA and the French National Police, have dismantled an international criminal network of drug traffickers based in Marbella (Málaga) that had armed escorts for its protection. In addition, 14 people have been arrested.
The organization, which operated from a restaurant in Puerto Banús, in the aforementioned Malaga municipality, is linked to the shipment (by road) of more than a ton of cannabis to Germany and the seizure of 382,000 euros in France.
In the operation, 14 people have been arrested and 28 simultaneous searches have been carried out in Spain (10) and Germany (18) in which more than 180,000 euros in cash, seven firearms and 30 kilos of marijuana have been seized, among others. effects, the National Police has indicated in a statement.
The investigation began in December 2022 following the arrest of three people, of Colombian and Albanian origin, in the French town of Dax. Those arrested, who currently remain in provisional prison in the French country, had 382,000 euros in cash hidden in a vehicle seized.
The investigations carried out by the French authorities revealed that the money seized was destined for the leaders of a criminal organization, allegedly dedicated to international drug trafficking, based in Marbella.
Likewise, the connections with Germany, the destination country for the drugs transported by road from Spain, were proven. This motivated the start of a joint research team between the three countries, Spain, France and Germany.
The leaders of the ring, two Germans of Iranian and Moroccan origin, ran a restaurant located in Puerto Banús, where they held meetings with other drug traffickers.
In addition, they had a permanent escort, made up of armed Colombian citizens, whose mission was, expressly, to provide them with security against the danger that other criminal organizations would attack them or try to steal their merchandise.
After several police actions, last summer there were several seizures of narcotic substances that, as the investigation showed, had left the province of Cádiz. Specifically, in June 2023, 140 kilos of hashish were seized, divided into three confiscated shipments, sent from a company in Jerez de la Frontera to another company in Germany.
On the other hand, 450 kilos of hashish were seized, hidden between boxes of lemons, in a truck seized in Germany and coming from Murcia. Finally, another 400 kilos of the same narcotic substance were found in the warehouse where the truck was going to unload the merchandise.
As a result of the seizures, and through several European Investigation Orders (OEI) issued by Germany requesting different measures, surveillance of those investigated in Malaga - Puerto Banús, San Pedro Alcántara, in Marbella, and the town of Estepona - was intensified. - and Cádiz --Sanlúcar de Barrameda and Jerez de la Frontera--.
As a result, the agents detected the organization's base of operations, which turned out to be the Puerto Banús restaurant run by its leaders, and a yacht docked in Marbella, where those investigated held discreet meetings with other drug traffickers.
Likewise, the investigation has also revealed the organization's links with prominent members of the Hell's Angels MC motorcycle gang - both German and Spanish chapters - as well as with citizens of Albanian and Bulgarian origin, all of them with a history of drug trafficking. drugs.
The modus operandi used by the organization to transport the drugs to Germany consisted of hiding the narcotic substance in 'caves', both in vehicles and trucks.
Furthermore, to avoid being discovered, those investigated changed the location of the “daycare centers” (places where they kept the drugs) between Marbella (Málaga), Sanlúcar de Barrameda (Cádiz) and Utrera (Seville).
At the end of last April, the operation was carried out simultaneously in Spain and Germany. As a result, eight people have been arrested in our country - two of them in Marbella, five in Estepona and one in the province of Seville - and two in Germany, to which we must add the three arrested in France in December 2022 and a fourth person in Germany in October 2023.
On the other hand, 28 searches have been carried out, ten in Spain and 18 in Germany, with national police traveling to Wisbaden and German investigators to Malaga to participate in them. As a result of these, more than 180,000 euros in cash, seven firearms, ammunition of various calibers, and 30 kilos of marijuana, among other items, have been seized.
