Jaén, (EFE).- A joint operation of the National Police, the Civil Guard and Customs Surveillance has dismantled one of the main drug transport organizations from Andalusia to the center of Europe.
The operation has resulted in the arrest of 16 people in the provinces of Jaén, Córdoba and Málaga, the seizure of some 750 kilos of hashish and the blocking of assets and bank accounts worth more than one and a half million euros, according to The Government delegate in Andalusia, Pedro Fernández, reported this Wednesday.
The operation, dubbed ‘Andura-Plazoleta’, has culminated “a far-reaching and important investigation, because one of the main drug transport routes from Andalusia to the center of Europe has been cut off,” Fernández said in a conference press in Jaén.
The 16 people arrested so far have entered preventive detention by order of the head of the Court of First Instance and Instruction number 3 of Andújar (Jaén) https://www.poderjudicial.es/cgpj/es/Servicios/Directorio/Directorio-de -Judicial-Bodies/Court-of-First-Instance-and-Instruction-n–3—Andujar?provincia=23, which has directed the investigation.
Business and financial framework
They are considered alleged perpetrators of crimes against public health, money laundering, criminal organization, electricity fraud and illegal possession of weapons.
The members of this group had a business and financial network dedicated solely to laundering the profits and giving the appearance of legality to businesses related to drug trafficking.
The colonel in charge of the Jaén Command, Francisco Lozano, has indicated that the investigations began in September 2022 and that the agents found out that there was a group of Spanish citizens settled in this province at the head of the criminal network.
The network used large-tonnage trucks to transport drugs, which they supplied from different points in Andalusia, where they contacted marijuana and hashish suppliers, as well as having their own marijuana production.
Those considered leaders of the organization (a resident of Mengíbar, but a resident of the Costa del Sol, and a resident of Andújar) enjoyed a high standard of living, which did not correspond to their legal income.
More than 30 records throughout Andalusia
To launder the money they used insurance brokers, car sales establishments or driverless vehicle rental companies.
The trucks loaded the drugs in a farm located in the Granada town of Chimeneas, and which was owned by a neighbor of Jun, also in Granada.
In the final phase of the operation, more than 30 searches were carried out in private homes, companies, warehouses and farms in Andújar, Linares, Mengíbar, Chimeneas, Jun, Alhaurín de la Torre and Fuengirola.
The Government delegate in Andalusia has indicated that the investigation is still open and it is likely that there will be other arrests related to money laundering activities. EFE