The Civil Guard has arrested in Los Alcázares, in Murcia, two alleged members of an organization dedicated to international drug trafficking based in Spain and with connections in several European countries. One of the arrested individuals is considered the alleged ringleader of the network, and the other was driving the vehicle in which both were identified.
The case started from a preventive check by the Local Police, which detected irregularities in the occupants' documentation. From that check, a structure emerged that, in addition to moving drugs to different European destinations, changed residence between Murcia, Alicante, Valencia, and Tarragona and used false documentation and usurped identities to rent vehicles.
Operation Iris 24 included searches in Tarragona and three other provinces
The investigation, christened Operation Iris 24 and initiated in 2024, was deployed with searches in Murcia, Alicante, Valencia, and Tarragona. The Guardia Civil places within this operation the dismantling of part of a network that bought substances from other organizations to prepare them before their distribution.
In the searches, agents seized more than 23 kilograms of marijuana and one kilogram of cocaine, in addition to 80 grams of heroin, vacuum sealers, precision scales, and packaging material.
According to the investigation, the group packaged the drug in packages of between 100 grams and two kilograms. Then it hid it in false bottoms of appliances and other everyday objects to send it by parcel to different points in Europe.
Valencia Airport stopped about twenty shipments before leaving the country
The case also includes about twenty drug shipments intercepted in controls at Valencia Airport before leaving Spain. This data points to a sustained operation spread across several points in the Mediterranean arc, with Tarragona among the provinces where the organization established temporary residences.
In addition to constant changes of address, investigators attribute to the group the use of forged Irish passports and driving licenses. The network also allegedly resorted to stolen identities to rent vehicles and maintain its mobility between Murcia, Alicante, Valencia, and Tarragona.
One of those arrested is considered the alleged ringleader and had a record in Ireland for similar acts. The second arrested was the driver of the car and faces a charge for a crime against road safety for lacking a driving license.
The investigation has had the collaboration of authorities from the United Kingdom, Ireland, and the Czech Republic. The two arrested are accused of belonging to a criminal group, crimes against public health for drug trafficking, and forgery of public documents.
Among the details incorporated into the case is that the organization prepared packages ranging from 100 grams to two kilograms to hide them in false bottoms of appliances and send them by parcel to various European destinations.