The Civil Guard and the National Police dismantle an important criminal network dedicated to hashish traffic in Melilla
Three people have been arrested and investigated for the alleged crimes of belonging to a criminal organization and against public health
They hid the drug in double bottoms practiced in heavy vehicles such as trucks and vans in order to introduce it into the peninsula
The Civil Guard and the National Police, within the framework of the “LIRIO” operation, have dismantled in the Autonomous City of Melilla a criminal organization dedicated to hashish traffic from Melilla to the peninsula.
In the operation, three people, of Spanish and Moroccan nationalities, have been arrested and investigated, to whom they attribute crimes of belonging to a criminal organization and against public health.
The investigation began last October 2019, following the detection of suspicious movements of a person who had a history of drug trafficking and could be dedicated to the transport of goods from the peninsula to Melilla in heavy vehicles such as Trucks and vans.
Once the merchandise of licit commerce was unloaded in Melilla, they introduced the vehicles that had arrived in the city in a ship located in an industrial estate, a place that they used as infrastructure to practice and elaborate the double funds where they introduced the drug. They also sealed the structure and restored its exterior to avoid any indication of tampering.
Subsequently, other members of the organization, using an alleged professional activity as an importer / exporter of goods, for which they had registered as freelancers on previous dates, proceeded to move the loaded truck to the port of Melilla and embark on the ferry that unites the city with the peninsula, the final destination of the drug.
Other components of the network accompanied the vehicle loaded with drugs throughout the journey to provide security and warn of any police control that existed.
Intervened material
During the investigation, two simultaneous domiciliary registrations have been made in Melilla, where they have intervened:
- 311 kilos of hashish
- 2 heavy vehicles, a refrigerated truck and a van
- Tools for the manufacture of double bottoms in vehicles
- Large number of mobile phones
The investigation has been carried out jointly by agents belonging to the EDOA of the Judicial Police Organic Unit of the Civil Guard and the UDYCO of the National Police of Melilla, who have had the collaboration of the Security Prevention and Reaction Unit Citizen of the National Police.
