Spanish authorities have seized 200 kilograms of cocaine at the Port of Vigo and dismantled an international criminal organization, arresting eight people, five of whom have been sent to prison. The operation was carried out by the Spanish National Police in collaboration with the Tax Agency, after the drugs were hidden in a container arriving from Colombia.
The news was made public this Friday during a press conference, where it was announced that the operation was called "Monterrey".
The investigations had begun in 2024, as part of efforts to prevent the exploitation of new direct maritime routes between Latin America and the port of Vigo by international criminal organizations.
During the investigation, the existence of an Albanian clan was discovered, which used the method known as “rip off” or “blind hook”. This method consists of introducing drugs into containers with legal goods or empty ones, on commercial ships, and then removing them at the destination port.
On January 12, police intervened and arrested five members of the network, who had arrived the day before the ship docked to pick up the drugs. Two of them were found in a rented apartment near Vigo, while three others were arrested while they were in a restaurant in the city.
The investigations concluded on Tuesday with the arrest of three more people in operations carried out in A Coruña, Lugo, Madrid and the Salnés region of Pontevedra.
According to authorities, the leader of this organization was a close associate of a well-known late trafficker, otherwise known as the "Wikipedia drug trafficker", and had the support of a Galician criminal network to establish himself in this region. He was also wanted by the justice system for serving a sentence for drug trafficking.
In total, the police seized 200 kilograms of cocaine divided into four packages, as well as 20 thousand euros in cash. The eight arrested are accused of participating in a criminal organization and drug trafficking, while five of them have been remanded in prison by court order.
