AUTHORITIES have busted an international criminal gang linked to the largest cocaine shipment made in Europe- 16 tonnes- which was seized at the Port of Hamburg in 2021.
The Policia Nacional in cooperation with Lithuanian and Irish police brought down the traffickers who imported narcotics from South America and Morocco for onward distribution across Europe.
A key figure in the Lithuanian-run crew has been arrested in the Orihuela area of Alicante province.
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He was the son of the gang boss who had the role of organising many of the drug shipments.
The Policia Nacional described him as ‘living discreetly’ in Orihuela where he negotiated and organised transportation.
He was always accompanied by two bodyguards and travelled in a large displacement car,
Seven others were detained in Lithuania and one in Ireland.
25 searches in various countries resulted in the seizure of over €2 million in cash, seven firearms, 103 kilos of marijuana, GPS detectors, and encrypted mobile phones.
The Lithuanian gang used Spain as an auxiliary base for the purchase of large quantities of hashish, cocaine and marijuana destined for other European countries.
It organised transport from eastern Spain, Malaga, and Tarragona, as well as maintaining bases in Ireland and other countries to export narcotics via ships, lorries and trucks. and cars.
Joint investigations set up after the 2021 Hamburg cocaine seizure led to authorities establishing that the crew were operating in Spain and Lithuania.
They travelled with forged papers and maintained strong security measures, leading to police identifying their targets, before launching surveillance operations lasting several weeks, ahead of the arrests and raids.
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