Eleven people were arrested in Marbella. sur

Watch as police smash a Marbella-based gang supplying fuel for boats used by drug traffickers

More than 216 containers filled with 10,800 litres of fuel were seized along with 9,000 euros in cash, nine vehicles – four of them used for private hire – three semi-rigid dinghies, five outboard motors, numerous weapons and state-of-the-art communications equipment

Raquel Merino

Malaga

Friday, 24 June 2022, 19:58

Police have revealed that eleven people accused of being members of a drug trafficking gang have been arrested in Marbella, as part of Operation Six/Dompetit, which was carried out in different phases and ended with the gang being broken up last April. Five of those detained were remanded in custody on the orders of a court.

The investigation began in October 2020, when the police received information about a group of people in Las Albarizas district of Marbella who were allegedly involved in smuggling drugs from Morocco.

They linked them to two other people who had been arrested for drug trafficking a month previously, and discovered that the gang maintained high internal security, to avoid any information being leaked. The ringleaders supported the families and paid for the legal defence of gang members who were arrested and sent to prison, to stop them cooperating with the authorities and to ensure that they stayed silent.

VTC licences

The organisation was bringing drugs from Morocco and storing them in different places along the coast, but in addition, the gang invested some of its profits in licences for VTCs (vehicles for hire with drivers) and set up a company for that purpose. They also ran a medium-scale drug distribution business and supplied fuel for the boats used to smuggle drugs.

They stored the dinghies, the outboard motors and containers of fuel in industrial warehouses, commercial premises and private homes. Altogether, the police searches related to this investigation discovered 450 kilos of hashish, 124 grammes of cocaine, 216 containers filled with 10,800 litres of fuel, 9,000 euros in cash, nine vehicles – four of them used for private hire – three semi-rigid dinghies, five outboard motors, numerous weapons, state-of-the-art communications equipment and documentation which proved relevant to the police operation.