Seven people have been arrested by the State Security Forces in an anti-drug trafficking operation in the province of Málaga. The arrests took place in the early hours of last Monday, 10 March, on a beach between the municipalities of Manilva and Casares, when the individuals were allegedly caught unloading a haul of 150 kilograms of cocaine.
The operation was the result of an investigation carried out by officers specialising in the fight against drug trafficking and organised crime, who had been closely monitoring the activity of an alleged criminal gang involved in narcotics trafficking. Following various inquiries, the officers learned that the organisation was planning a large drug shipment, and a surveillance operation was set up that culminated in the arrest of the seven suspects in the middle of the landing.
Those arrested were brought before Court of First Instance and Investigation number 4 in Estepona, which was on duty last Wednesday, 12 March. After taking their statements, the judge ordered remand in custody, incommunicado and without bail, for two of the detainees, who were the only ones to give evidence to the judicial authority.
According to sources close to the case, the remaining five exercised their right not to testify and were released provisionally, with the obligation to appear when required by the courts.
All those allegedly involved in the landing of the drugs are being investigated for alleged offences against public health, unlawful possession of weapons, forgery of a public document relating to the vessel’s registration, and theft and use of a motor vehicle.
The drugs seized in the operation amount to approximately 150 kilograms of cocaine. The judicial investigation of the case will now continue under Court of First Instance and Investigation number 3 in Estepona.
