Police in Spain have arrested eight people following an investigation which early on discovered a large amount of cannabis had been sent to Ireland.
Detectives say they identified several members of the Chinese gang behind the illegal operation with the help of the owners of the warehouses the criminals were renting to store the drugs following the discovery of the Irish connection.
The cannabis consignments were sent from rented premises in the towns of Parla and Humanes near Madrid.
Police say the initial police operation led to the criminal organisation changing tactics and sending drugs in smaller amounts using courier services.
Subsequent seizures took place of cannabis bound for Holland and Finland and the police also frustrated attempts by the gang to smuggle ketamine and ecstasy to Dubai and Mexico.
Dramatic footage released of the arrests showed heavily-armed officers forcing their way into flats with battering rams and shouting in Spanish and Chinese: “On the floor” to those inside before making the detentions and starting their searches.
They were also filmed confiscating drugs at one of the warehouses.
A spokesman for Spain’s National Police, confirming the arrests, said: “National Police officers have dismantled an active criminal organisation based in Madrid and dedicated to international drug trafficking through courier services.
“Detectives have arrested eight people and carried out seven searches at residential addresses and warehouses in Madrid and the nearby towns of Leganes and Humanes.
“The investigation, codenamed Operation Gaveta, has demonstrated the gang’s links to 150 kilos of cannabis sent to Ireland, Holland and Finland; 1.5 kilos of a mixture of coffee with ketamine, ecstasy and methamphetamines to Dubai; and 2.4 kilos of ketamine to Mexico.
“The initial investigation into the Chinese gang showed three pallets used to hide an important amount of marihuana buds had been sent to Ireland from warehouses in the towns of Parla and Humanes near Madrid.
“Thanks to the cooperation of the companies that owned the premises where the drugs seized were stored, officers managed to identify several members of the organisation and discover they had been smuggling drugs abroad using similar techniques.”
🚨 Desarticulada una organización que se dedicaba al tráfico internacional de #droga
📦La movían a través de empresas de #paquetería
🚔8 detenidos
👉7 registros en domicilios y trasteros en diferentes localidades de #Madrid pic.twitter.com/KIM75hc8QI— Policía Nacional (@policia) September 30, 2023
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Confirming the gang reacted to the police pressure by “modifiying its modus operandi” and opting for smaller deliveries of drugs using courier services and sending parcels to named people and companies, the police spokesman added: “To do so they used stolen ID documents belonging to foreigners.”
The parcels containing drugs including ecstasy and ketamine were seized after the interception of six parcels containing cannabis which were due to be sent to Holland and Finland.
Spain’s National Police confirmed last night: “The investigation remains open with the aim of locating possible links between the drug trafficking operation which has been smashed and other consignments of synthetic drugs confiscated abroad.”
Veteran crime boss John Gilligan was handed a 22-month suspended prison sentence by a Spanish court last month after admitting using courier services to smuggle cannabis and prescription-only drugs without licence to Ireland.
He also pleaded guilty to illegally possessing a firearm as part of a plea bargain deal ahead of his trial at a court in Torrevieja.
Seven other accomplices in the gang he led including his son Darren also received suspended prison sentences. His girlfriend Sharon Oliver refused to sign the plea bargain deal and was acquitted of any wrongdoing following a one-day trial.
