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Diario Euskadi

International Drug Trafficking Network Dismantled, Arrest Made in Bilbao

The operation involved branches in Bizkaia, Málaga, and La Rioja, and dismantled a laboratory in Toledo.

Bundles of cash and luxury watches on a dark table, with a blurred background, under dim, focused lighting.
IA

Bundles of cash and luxury watches on a dark table, with a blurred background, under dim, focused lighting.

A joint operation by the Civil Guard, National Police, and Customs Surveillance Service has dismantled an international drug trafficking network, leading to the arrest of an individual residing in Bilbao.

The fight against international drug trafficking has once again focused on Bizkaia. As part of an ambitious joint operation between the Civil Guard, the National Police, and the Customs Surveillance Service, the territory of Bizkaia has been one of the key locations in the final phase of operation “Sircan”, which successfully dismantled a criminal organization dedicated to large-scale cocaine trafficking between South America and Europe.
Although the network's nerve center was located in an industrial estate in Toledo, the final phase of the investigation led to direct interventions in Bizkaia, Málaga, and La Rioja. These actions resulted in the seizure of approximately 70,000 euros in cash and high-value items, such as luxury watches, linked to the organization's money laundering. In total, 13 people were arrested in Spain who formed an international criminal drug trafficking network between America and Europe, and among those arrested is a man who resided in Bilbao.
The core of the plot was located in a warehouse in Gerindote, Toledo. Under an appearance of complete normality in an industrial estate, the network concealed a large laboratory for the extraction and processing of cocaine hydrochloride. What surprised investigators most was the level of professionalism: they had specialized “cooks” brought by the organization exclusively from Colombia to process the drug. The laboratory operated in uninterrupted shifts with differentiated areas for extraction, filtering, and packaging, and the drug was pressed into “bricks” with distinctive seals to mark its origin in the illicit market.
The investigation began in 2022, after detecting maritime containers bound for Rotterdam that concealed the narcotic. The concealment method was complex: the cocaine was impregnated in between 7 and 8 tons of corn flour. At the time of the raid in Toledo, agents found the laboratory in full production, seizing 9 kilograms of cocaine already ready for sale with 93% purity, as well as 3,500 kilograms of chemical precursors. The operation has not only removed drugs from the streets.
During searches carried out in the Community of Madrid, where the gang leader was apprehended, five firearms and hundreds of cartridges, three bulletproof vests, and electric pistols were found. In addition to cocaine, “pink cocaine”, MDMA, marijuana, and erectile dysfunction pills were seized.
Concurrently, Customs Surveillance has blocked the network's assets, which include 7 properties, 17 vehicles, and 11 bank accounts. The success of the operation has relied on intense international collaboration with police forces from the USA, Colombia, France, and the Netherlands, confirming that the ramifications of global drug trafficking directly affect the geography of Bizkaia.

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