The Civil Guard arrests four people in Orihuela and San Miguel de Salinas and seizes 84 kilos of cocaine in Monóvar.

Image of a Civil Guard examining the cylinders of a machine where a stash of cocaine was discovered.

Cerrada 29 JUN 2025 6:00

A complaint filed with the Civil Guard of Murcia by a transport company has uncovered a drug trafficking network based in the Orihuela Costa and San Miguel de Salinas area that was involved in shipping cocaine and hashish to Ireland and the United Kingdom, concealed in industrial machinery sent through international transport companies. In the anti-drug operation, carried out by the Civil Guard and the Customs Surveillance Service, 84.2 kilograms of cocaine were seized. The network had camouflaged an industrial drill and contracted transport to Ireland through a company in Monóvar. In addition to this shipment, the organization shipped another 340 kilograms of hashish with a Murcia company, which was discovered at French customs.

The operation against this organization is still ongoing, and so far the Civil Guard has arrested four Irish citizens in Orihuela Costa and San Miguel de Salinas. Two firearms were seized during the searches, which, in the opinion of the Civil Guard, reveals the dangerous nature of the gang. However, the four arrested were provisionally released after appearing before the courts in Torrevieja and Orihuela, where one of the accused members of the drug trafficking network was assisted by lawyers Francisco Miguel Galiana Botella and Iván Rodríguez Lorente. The case is initially being investigated by a court in Molina de Segura, as the complaint that initiated the investigation was filed in the Region of Murcia. However, the case could ultimately be taken up by a court in the province of Alicante.

The investigation was launched following a complaint filed on June 2 with the Civil Guard of Murcia by a representative of a transport company in the town of Lorquí. The complaint reported that on May 26, a truck driver for the company was arrested in France after customs discovered 340 kilos of hashish in a package that was supposed to contain an industrial fan inside a shipment bound for the United Kingdom, specifically to a company in Liverpool.

The Organized Crime and Anti-Drug Team (EDOA) of the Murcia Civil Guard and the Customs Surveillance Service began an investigation under the supervision of a court in Molina. After obtaining judicial authorization to tap a telephone and install tracking devices on two vehicles belonging to the group under investigation, they discovered that the organization shipped merchandise to the United Kingdom and Ireland through transport companies in Alicante and Murcia and concealed drug stashes in shipments of industrial machinery.

New Shipment

While investigating the case, they discovered that the same people responsible for the shipment intercepted in France were planning to send a similar shipment to Dublin, Ireland. To this end, they contacted a company in Monóvar and informed them they wanted to send an industrial drill.

On June 11, one of the now-detained individuals drove a truck to the company in Monóvar and delivered a package containing the industrial drill. The Civil Guard examined the drill and discovered 84.2 kilos of cocaine hidden inside. The drugs were seized with a judicial authorization, and the drill was sent to Ireland on June 13, where the Irish police had already been alerted to try to identify the recipients.

The Civil Guard and Customs Surveillance identified four suspects in Orihuela Costa and San Miguel de Salinas, including the truck driver. After the shipment arrived in Ireland, they arrested those involved on June 20. The network had another industrial drill for a new drug shipment, but it was empty.

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