Pontevedra, Apr 28 (EFE).- The operation against drug trafficking that the Central Operating Unit (UCO) of the Civil Guard carried out last Wednesday in the provinces of Pontevedra and Lugo has resulted in the seizure of 220 kilograms of cocaine.
The police operation, called Carplaya, has led to the arrest of 10 people, many of them family ties and related to drug trafficking for years.
All of them, according to the investigators, were part of an active criminal organization centered in Galicia and specialized in transporting cocaine between different parts of Spain and Portugal, using vehicles equipped with sophisticated systems to hide the drug.
The investigation into this framework, led by the Central Court of Instruction number 6 of the National Court and by the Special Anti-drug Prosecutor, began in April 2022, as reported in a statement by the Civil Guard this Friday.
As this work was defining the different objectives of the organization, the agents verified how some of those investigated transported hidden drugs in vehicles.
They did so without the support of other security vehicles to avoid police controls, as is usual in these cases, which made the investigators suspect that the organization had sophisticated systems to hide the cocaine in the cars.
This line of investigation led the agents to a clandestine workshop located in Vigo (Pontevedra), whose manager was essential in the logistics used by this organization.
Thus, the members of this criminal group not only had previous experience in drug trafficking, but also used advanced encrypted messaging technology in their communications, inhibition systems, and state-of-the-art radio frequency detectors.
The Civil Guard explains that it was “very relevant” to verify the high standard of living of many of those investigated, since without having any known legal economic income or properties, they were owners of different companies in a serious state of declared deficit.
Despite this, they frequently purchased high-end vehicles, all kinds of home furnishings in the name of spouses or relatives, or booked exclusive trips.
This led to an exhaustive economic and asset analysis of the main members of this organization and its companies, which allowed the authorities to also investigate them for crimes related to money laundering.
After a year of investigation, UCO agents arrested 10 members of this organization last Wednesday, who are charged with the crimes of belonging to a criminal organization, against public health and money laundering.
The 15 searches carried out resulted in the seizure of 220 kilos of cocaine, 2.5 kilos of hashish, 640,000 euros in cash, eight vehicles, frequency inhibitors, radio frequency detection systems, encrypted communication terminals and various documentation.
Most of the drugs were found in one of the registered farms in Pontevedra, an agricultural and livestock farm that hid the cocaine in an underground hole that was difficult for the Civil Guard to detect given its sophisticated burial system.
In the economic part, the investigators managed to immobilize more than four million euros between commercial companies, real estate, boats and blocked bank accounts.
All the investigation carried out by the Organized Crime Team (ECO) based in Galicia, dependent on the UCO of the Civil Guard, had the collaboration of Europol and the participation of more than 250 agents from different units of the armed institute.
Among them, members of the Rapid Action Group (GAR), the Reserve and Security Groups of Valencia and León, the Central Cynological Service, the Fiscal Section of Melilla and various units of the Pontevedra, Lugo and Melilla Commands have participated.