The National Police, in a joint operation with the Colombian Police, the Customs Surveillance of the Tax Agency and EUROPOL, dismantled a cocaine production laboratory installed under a large arena on a farm in La Puebla de Montalbán (Toledo).
An operation in which a criminal organization that entered Spain was dismantled cocaine soaked in cardboard boxes for the transport of fruit and which resulted in 13 detainees in Toledo, eight in Madrid, five in Malaga and two in Colombia.
Likewise, a total of 47 kilos of cocaine, 20 kilos of cocaine base, 3,000 liters of liquid precursors and 300 kilos of solidsthree firearms, 20 vehicles and more than 245,000 euros in cash.
The shipment left Colombia and arrived at the port of Malaga under the legal guise of fruit export. Subsequently, it was transferred to the laboratory located in La Puebla de Montalbán, through an alleged fruit company. There, the family of a former Colombian hitman was in charge of transforming the narcotic.
Investigation
The investigation began in August 2022, when officers received information from the Spanish National Police’s liaison officer in Colombia warning of the Possible contamination of a container of bananas destined for the port of Malaga.
By investigating the fruit import company, based in Malaga, the police discovered that this organisation had met on several occasions with the children of a former Colombian hitman, head of a “collection office” which sold its services to Colombian cartels based in Spain.
Money, drugs and weapons seized. Photo: National Police.
A company transformed into a powerful organization for the introduction and distribution of cocaine in Spain, whose members were based in Madrid and Toledo and had numerous apartments, businesses, vehicles and a large group of people. The investigation determined that the criminal group operated like a mafia family and was distinguished by its secrecy and perfect hierarchy.
Likewise, they discovered that the organization’s “flagship product” was in the laboratory installed under the bullring of a large rural property in La Puebla de Montalbán, which had an olive grove and even livestock.
Some contaminated boxes
The key to the investigation was the shipment of contaminated boxes to the port of Malaga. When these were detected, members of the organization’s branch in the Andalusian city They rented an industrial warehouse in a small town where they exchanged the cocaine-soaked cartons for new ones.
To do this, they hired a team that spent three days working, sleeping in a nearby farmhouse and completely isolated from the outside. The contaminated boxes were transported to a warehouse in Leganés, while The new ones were taken to Mercamadrid to continue their supposedly legal business activity.
When the drug reached the members of the organization in Madrid, a ceaseless activity began, since they had to receive the people responsible for its extraction and processing. One of these men was an experienced “drug cook” who had worked for the “Clan del Golfo”, managing monthly productions of up to four tons of drugs.
The laboratory
Under the bullring of a farm in La Puebla de Montalbán was the laboratory. It was divided into several areas, each with a specific objective, with the aim of becoming a continuous production line in Spain.using equipment similar to that of large Colombian laboratories.
The assault on the arenas took place last June, with the support of the Special Operations Group (GEO). The agents discovered the drugs packaged in one-kilogram “bricks” of cocaine hydrochloride.. In addition, the authorities intercepted two vehicles leaving the laboratory, one of them driven by the eldest son of the clan transporting 21 kilos of newly manufactured cocaine. During this phase, 18 people were arrested and more than 240,000 euros, 26 kilos of cocaine hydrochloride, 13 vehicles, two firearms and 20 kilos of cocaine base were seized.
Money, drugs and weapons seized. Photo: National Police.
After, In Seseña, searches were carried out in three houses, including the residence of the leader of the organization and a chalet where the Colombian “cooks” were staying.also used for the organization’s parties with its collaborators. Similarly, in Madrid, six houses and a storage room were searched, where two pistols and more than 200,000 euros of vacuum-packed cash were found. On the other hand, 26 kilos of cocaine hydrochloride ready for sale were hidden in the apartment of a member of the organization, bearing the same logo as those found in the laboratory.
Eight other people were arrested in the provinces of Malaga and Madrid. Finally, the National Court issued various international arrest warrants against several of the main members of the supply organization in Colombia. With the support of EUROPOL, the operation resulted in the arrest of two key members of the clan.
