Release for eleven arrested in the Vega Baja for a Turkish network that trafficked synthetic drugs by parcel

The National Police carry out 12 searches in Torrevieja, Orihuela Costa, Ciudad Quesada, Alicante, Finestrat and Murcia and seize chemical material for a cannabis laboratory.

The Police arrive at the Torrevieja courts with several detainees in the operation. / D. Pamies Información

The National Police has dismantled in the province of Alicante an international drug trafficking organisation that sent narcotic substances through parcels and was made up mostly of Turkish citizens, although it had the collaboration of an Albanian and a Spanish branch for its alleged illicit activities. In the operation, carried out last week, eleven people of Turkish, German, Albanian and Spanish origin were arrested and the National Police carried out twelve house searches in Torrevieja, Orihuela Costa, Ciudad Quesada in Rojales, Alicante, Finestrat and Alguazas, in the Region of Murcia.

One of the searches involved chemical precursors and material for a synthetic cannabinoid laboratory, as well as a “recipe” written in Turkish with the steps to follow to manufacture the drug. In addition, more than 25,000 euros in cash, vehicles – one stolen in Madrid – watches and other effects whose value could reach hundreds of thousands of euros, according to the Police, were seized.

The Police with the detainees who were brought to justice in Torrevieja. / D. Pamies

Of the eleven detainees, assisted by lawyers Juan Antonio Espinosa Vaño, Natalia Montilla Ibarra, Francisco Miguel Galiana Botella and Moisés Candela Sabater, seven were provisionally released after appearing at police stations and the other four were also released after being made available last Friday at the disposal of Plaza number 2 of the Instruction Section of the Court of Instance of Torrevieja. Likewise, the alleged ringleader, who was not arrested in the operation as he was not in a home in Finestrat assaulted by agents of the Special Operations Group (GEO), appeared via videoconference and the magistrate leading the investigation agreed to his release and to rescind the police arrest warrant.

High-end tourism seized in the operation. / Slim

The investigation has been carried out by the UDYCO – Drugs and Organized Crime Unit – of Benidorm, Alicante and Torremolinos-Benalmádena, in the province of Malaga, as well as the Greco Levante – the Special Response Group against Organized Crime – and the UDEV of Benidorm.

In addition to the clandestine laboratory, during the investigations, a package with about 20 kilos of MDMB-INACA, a synthetic cannabinoid, was seized from the group. The Police have verified about a hundred shipments – 88 – related to the group over two years. One of the shipments sent to Murcia was not delivered when it was inspected in Madrid after an alert from the US DEA.

Two arrested with weapons in Benidorm

The arrest of two Turks with firearms at a police checkpoint in Benidorm in August last year gave way to the beginning of the investigation in a court in Torrevieja, the municipality where the suspects resided. The arrest occurred a few days after the shooting death in Torrevieja of a leader of the Turkish mafia clan of Los Daltons, with which some of those under investigation had a relationship, according to investigators.

The police maintain that there is an open war in Spain between Turkish mafia clans and warn of an escalation of violence with murders and shootings in public places. The group dismantled in the Vega Baja was also being investigated for arms trafficking, although only a pistol with ammunition with 11 cartridges and a short pellet gun were seized in the searches.

Car stolen in Majadahonda (Madrid) that has been recovered with a false license plate. / Slim

The investigators also carried out searches in a real estate agency and a restaurant in Torrevieja used as logistical cover or meeting point. The police believe that the real estate company provided accommodation to members of the group, who frequently changed their address to make police action difficult. The Turkish network also had a house in Xàbia that could be used as a drug “nursery”, but it was abandoned after the Local Police arrested two investigated in a routine check, where they verified that they had European arrest warrants.

The Albanian branch appears in the investigation as a strategic partner of the Turkish organization. In a search in Ciudad Quesada, the agents found bags with traces of marijuana, bags for vacuum packaging, labels of marijuana varieties, a precision scale, a packaging machine, two luxury watches and 9,000 euros. The Police interpret these findings as indications of a point of storage, custody or distribution of narcotic substances.

As for the Spanish branch, based in Alguazas, the Police attribute security, operational support and protection functions to it. Investigators link it to debt collection, armed protection, drug custody and drug “dumping” to other groups. In Alguazas they located 250 marijuana cuttings, official clothing of the Civil Guard and tools that could be used to carry out drug thefts from other traffickers.

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