Agents seized a large amount of cocaine in Algeciras, but were unable to arrest any of the suspects

• The judge agrees to house arrest for one of those involved in the plot of the former head of the UDEF who collaborated with drug traffickers
• The former head of the UDEF marked a “huge” number of containers for drug traffickers

Material seized during a joint operation by the National Police and the Customs Surveillance Service that has resulted in the seizure of 13 tonnes of cocaine in a container in the port of Algeciras (Cádiz), the largest in the history of drug trafficking in Spain. A.Carrasco RagelEFE Agency

The agents of the Udyco of the National Police knew that they had a problem in the fight against drug traffickers. These anti-drug experts “hunted” containers in Algeciras with a large amount of cocaine, but they could not arrest the suspects. The criminals received “tip-offs” and evaded the action of justice. With the passage of time they got the clues that pointed directly to Óscar Sánchez Gil, the former head of the UDEF who had millions sandwiched in his house.

The first warning sign was received in 2021 when they were unable to fully carry out some errands in the Port of Algeciras. Those responsible for the cocaine left. Even today it is suspected that they are outside Spain.

This first tip-off can be corroborated today that it was provided by the former head of the UDEF. The main link between the world of drug trafficking and the chief inspector is Ignacio Torán. The man who went from confidant to partner.

Tons of cocaine

After this warning came many more. “Numerous cocaine caches were introduced, adding up to a large number of tons, without the drug being seized,” reflects one of the police reports to which LA RAZÓN has had access.

Despite this, it was not until June 2024 that the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office filed a complaint and proceedings began in the Central Court of Instruction number 1 of the National Court. The Udyco Central and Internal Affairs handled the issue with the greatest possible secrecy.

A joint operation by the National Police and the Customs Surveillance Service that has resulted in the seizure of 13 tonnes of cocaine in a container in the port of Algeciras (Cádiz), the largest in the history of drug trafficking in Spain.A.Carrasco RagelEFE Agency

The case was very delicate and they knew that any false step could cause both Óscar and his partners to leave Spain by virtue of the great economic capacity they had. Surveillance  and wiretapping were key in this regard.

Sources of the investigation affirm to LA RAZÓN that the incriminating charge is “decisive”. The conversations of the former head of the UDEF with his narco partner multiplied on WhatsApp and all went in the same direction of doing business.

Oscar’s conversations

This police commander had no contact, at least apparently, with the other detainees. The rest of the members of the criminal organization were more cautious and interacted through encrypted messaging applications.

The feeling of “impunity” of this chief inspector was such that he received money transfers in his accounts from the very companies he marked to supposedly investigate them. An amount that provided him with a stable life and, despite the expenses, his economic balance did not change.

The latest development in the case was the arrest of Miguel, a 58-year-old Spaniard, and Vilma Janet A.B., a 51-year-old Ecuadorian. They turned themselves in at a National Police station. They were out of reach of the authorities for five months, who even asked for an international arrest warrant.

His lawyer, Francisco Miguel Galiana, managed to get the man under house arrest and the woman free with the obligation to sign every day in court. Magistrate Francisco de Jorge bases this procedural situation on the indications of the intercepted telephone conversations and stresses that Óscar Sánchez Gil, the former head of the UDEF in Madrid, gave the notice to the couple “so that they would flee and avoid arrest”.

The investigation of this case is far from over. The investigator highlights in his records that a millionaire patrimony that could be found outside Spain has yet to be located. For this reason, most of the investigations remain under summary secrecy.

The narcos’ containers

One of the things that most appealed to the officials is the “huge number of numbers of containers investigated” that Óscar Sánchez marked in the system, especially those of a company that led to the exploitation of the investigations. This company was the one that appeared as the owner of the container where the largest cache of cocaine in Spain was located in Algeciras. There were 13 tons of drugs that were seized.

One of the reports on the case of the former head of the UDEFLR

The drug traffickers used, on various dates, several companies “always with the collaboration” of the former head of the UDEF in Madrid to “ensure their impunity”. The organisation managed to “introduce containers loaded with cocaine into Spain”.

The chief inspector’s partner used multiple companies of which he was the real owner and the person who made the decisions to launder the large profits of his drug importation activity. These companies are: the Corporate Reputation Consultancy, Top Life Real State, La Suerte de Atocha, Leihwagen and Marbella Land. The agents have been able to locate “assets worth tens of millions of euros in different countries”.