Underground hideouts discovered as nine tonnes of drugs seized in Malaga province
National Police officers have dealt a heavy blow to both small-scale and international drug-trafficking organisations in the last month
The National Police have struck a major blow against organised crime in Malaga province and along the Costa del Sol, dismantling several violent drug networks and seizing nine tonnes of narcotics in a series of operations over the past month.
One of the operations was launched after the drugs and organised crime unit of the provincial police force noticed unusual movements of buyers and sellers carrying bags and backpacks in residential buildings in the Bailén-Miraflores area in Malaga city. After discovering that deliveries of up to five kilos of cocaine were being made, the police managed to identify all the members of the network, who were arrested and sent to prison, including the leader, who was captured in Ronda.
The most important detail remained a secret, however: where were the drugs stored? The investigation led the police to Campillas last month, where they discovered two underground hideouts with 170 kilos of drugs, two semi-automatic pistols and 129,515 euros.
Another operation, given the codename 'Chef', led the police to discover that a vehicle was being loaded with hashish in a rural area between Sierras de Grazalema and Los Alcornocales at the end of September. The aim of that organisation was to get the drugs to France, but the police managed to intercept the vehicle in Granada province and seize 33 packages with over 1,000 kilos of hashish.
Four people were arrested in Mollina, Mijas and Estepona and six vehicles were seized. Two more arrests were carried out at the end of October. Subsequently, during a search at a farm in Churriana, six more vehicles were seized.
Operation 'Mosk' dismantled another international network based in Alhaurín El Grande and Cártama. The investigators noticed that blue packages were being loaded into a 4x4 vehicle, which was accompanied by a van and a car. Upon checking the registration number of the vehicle, the police discovered that it was an illegal operation and intercepted the network. As a result, they seized 600 kilos of hashish and arrested three suspects. One of them had a European arrest warrant issued by the French authorities for the crimes of homicide, assault and battery. The court ordered all of them to be remanded in custody.
As part of the operation, two house searches were carried out in Alhaurín el Grande and Cártama, where more than 2,500 kilograms of hashish and four vehicles were seized.
In the last month alone, the National Police have seized nine tonnes of drugs (hashish and cocaine), some 37 firearms, some of them military-grade weapons, and ammunition in Malaga province. The number of arrests has risen to 55.
