The Civil Guard has dismantled a plot that used the port of Melilla as a base for a European drug trafficking route, so that it first sent hashish from Morocco to the Netherlands, from where it later brought cocaine to the North African country.
As reported this Saturday by the Armed Institute, 21 people have been arrested in 'Operation Bergantes' for crimes against public health, false documents and belonging to a criminal organization. Almost 59 kilograms of cocaine and 186 kilograms of hashish have been seized, as well as goods valued at more than 3.6 million euros.
The investigation began when the agents detected a vehicle suspected of transporting and introducing drugs into Melilla through the port. When the agents intervened in the car, they discovered 15 kilograms of high-purity cocaine in a false bottom in the trunk.
The criminal network was led by two brothers, one settled in Morocco and the other in Granada, who was on the run from the Moroccan judicial authorities for leading a drug trafficking organization.
Together they had organized and deployed a process for obtaining and transporting cocaine and hashish through two procedures. The first consisted of receiving the hashish from Morocco through high-speed or recreational boats. Once they reached the peninsula, they were transported by road to their destination.
The second route began in the Netherlands and Barcelona, where they acquired the cocaine and sent it to Morocco through Melilla. In this way, the criminal organization financed itself to acquire cocaine with the profits it obtained from hashish trafficking in Morocco.
Up to 14 entries and searches have been made in homes located in Melilla, Granada and in the Barcelona towns of Martorell, Rubí, Terrasa and Gelida. In this last town, the Civil Guard located a laboratory with the necessary material for the reception, cutting, weighing and packaging of cocaine, as well as cash and a total of 43.7 kilograms of cocaine.
The appraisal of what was seized amounts to 3,635,000 euros, including up to half a million euros in seized cash. Among all the seized material, there are 38 vehicles, the blockade of property and real estate for a value of 653,500 euros and 49 bank accounts, numerous electronic material and last generation mobile phones, elements and substances for the preparation of the drug, 58, 7 kilograms of cocaine, 186 kilograms of hashish or a taser gun, among other effects.
