The National Police have dismantled a criminal organisation dedicated to the cultivation, storage and distribution of drugs in the Campo de Gibraltar area of Cádiz and in other towns in Andalucía and Valencia, with eight people arrested. The Police announced this in a statement following the so-called ‘Operation Ermita’, in which six house searches were carried out, some of them in Manilva, during which officers seized large quantities of narcotics and material related to drug trafficking.
The investigation began in August 2023, after indications of the existence of this organisation emerged. Its leader was identified after several months of surveillance. He coordinated the logistical work, which included hiring people to transport, store and distribute the drugs, as well as the falsification of number plates and the use of stolen vehicles.
The organisation operated at multiple strategic points in the Campo de Gibraltar and in other places such as Almería, Málaga, Valencia and Cádiz, adapting to police pressure in the area. During the investigations, it was found that they used homes as «stash houses» to store drugs and the material needed for their distribution, as well as luxury villas where key meetings were held. At an earlier stage, on 22 May, officers intercepted a vehicle during a drug transaction, a find that led to the seizure of 90.49 kilos of hashish, 3.10 kilos of cannabis and 30 grams of cocaine distributed in small wraps. Finally, on 6 November the six house searches were carried out in Manilva (Málaga) and in the Cádiz towns of Algeciras, San Martín del Tesorillo and the hamlet of El Bujeo, in Tarifa.
In addition to the drugs and a firearm, wetsuits, more than thirty communication devices, video cameras and material for indoor cannabis plantations were seized. The investigation was carried out by the UDYCO Group of the La Línea Police Station, coordinated by Examining Court no. 1 of San Roque, and stands out for its complexity and scope, demonstrating the operational capacity of this criminal organisation, the Police say.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1iFJjzwyed0
