The Civil Guard has intervened in 1.5 tons of in the largest police operation ever carried out against this drug in this Andalusian province. The substance was hidden in a house in La Puebla de Vícar, a town belonging to the municipality of Vícar (28,835 inhabitants), one of the properties registered in an action that has allowed the arrest of 16 people in addition to the seizure of five weapons, several vehicles and 22,000 euros in cash, among other effects. The subdelegate of the Government in Almería, José María Martín, has assured that this is a “historic” intervention framed in the fight against organized crime.
The investigation began on May 21, according to what Jesús Miras, commander of the Civil Guard in the province of Almería, said this Friday. That day, an intervention by the Roca Group of El Ejido discovered an indoor plantation of almost 500 marijuana specimens in Lucainena, a district of the municipality of Alcolea. The documentation found allowed the identification of several members of a criminal group dedicated to drug trafficking with “perfectly organized” members, according to investigation sources. Among them was the ringleader, whom the rest of the criminals referred to as “boss” or “King” as the agents were able to corroborate during the investigation.
. On the one hand, one in Pechina, where it was expected that there would be another illegal crop due to the existence of “a multitude of air conditioners” and the “disproportionate” amount of electricity that was consumed. On the other hand, a house in La Mojonera from which drugs were sold.
When the agents managed to determine the structure and functioning of the organization ——, the Civil Guard established an operation to carry out different interventions in parallel in different houses and apartments in the municipalities of Pechina, Viator, Roquetas de Mar, La Mojonera, Vícar and El Ejido with the participation of about 120 agents. As a result, 16 people were arrested. And in the properties, a total of five firearms, 9 millimeter caliber ammunition, 22,000 euros in cash, 24 high-end watches, encrypted mobile phones, precision scales and a geolocation cancellation beacon system were found.
They located hundreds of packages of cocaine, many of them with different stickers that usually serve to know who the buyer is. In total they added up to almost 1,500 kilos. At the moment, it is unknown the origin of the drug – which is being analyzed for its purity – or whether its destination was retail sales or international distribution. Its value would be between 45 and 90 million euros on the black market depending on whether it was sold wholesale or retail, according to calculations based on the price that the (OEDA) gives to cocaine.
The head of the Almería Command, José Antonio Carvajal, has explained that the operation, called Lukenan and coordinated by the investigation section of the Court of Instance of Berja Number 2, is framed in the Special Security Plan for the Campo de Gibraltar of . According to him, so far this year this work has served to arrest and investigate 261 people suspected of drug trafficking or smuggling during 50 operations. In them, 132 firearms and almost half a million marijuana plants have been seized – specifically 414,307 – as well as 1,420 kilograms of hashish and 1,500 kilos of cocaine. Carvajal has also detailed that the work to dismantle criminal organizations dedicated to drug trafficking, 65 boats and 51 vehicles, among which three buses stand out.
