The operation led to the seizure of “two tons of cocaine”, hidden in boats and in buildings located on the Portuguese coast.
Nine people accused of participating in a vast drug trafficking network were arrested in Spain and Portugal, where two tonnes of Colombian cocaine were seized, the Spanish Civil Guard announced on Friday.
The operation, coordinated by Europol, in conjunction with the United States Anti-Drug Agency (DEA), took place on Monday in several towns in Galicia, a region in the northwest of Spain, as well as in Monçao, town in northern Portugal located on the Spanish border.
It led to the arrest of nine Spaniards, supposed members of the “clan de los Piturros”, a criminal group “linked to drug trafficking in Galicia since the 1980s”specifies the Civil Guard in a press release.
This operation, the result of investigative work initiated in February, enabled the seizure of “two tons of cocaine”hidden in boats or in buildings located on the Portuguese coast, the press release specifies.
According to the Civil Guard, the members of this network were “in close connection with the main Colombian cocaine distributors”but also with a clan of Albanian origin, for whom part of the intercepted drugs was intended.
Galicia is today one of the main gateways for cocaine into Europe. On December 12, Spanish police announced the seizure of 7.5 tons of cocaine imported by Albanian criminal organizations in Vigo, the region’s main port.