They dismantle in Bilbao and Navarra a drug gang that used drones and encrypted phones
The Civil Guard and the Ertzaintza make six arrests and seize 32 kilos of pills and 3 of marijuana
The Civil Guard, in a joint operation with the Ertzaintza, have dismantled a gang of drug traffickers that moved between Navarra and Bizkaia and that was characterized by the enormous security measures that its members adopted to avoid detection. Among the precautions they took were ending the flight of surveillance drones and the use of encrypted mobile phones. There are six detainees and the security forces have seized 32 kilos of speed and 3 of marijuana.
The ‘Puppet’ operation began to take shape last year, when the agents verified the existence of a criminal group based in Navarra that could be dedicated to drug trafficking. The investigation focused on the alleged leader of the organization and his network of collaborators, being able to confirm that they were carrying out tasks of transporting narcotic substances. According to the Civil Guard, the group had a perfectly defined hierarchical structure with distribution of specific tasks for each of them, for which they are also attributed the crime of belonging to a criminal group, in addition to drug trafficking.
Use of a ‘cove’
Although a good part of the investigations took place in Navarra, the first arrests took place in Bizkaia. The Ertzaintza intercepted a vehicle with a sophisticated mechanism to hide drugs, which is known as a ‘caleta’. Inside the hidden fund, the agents found about 30 kilos of pills. For this reason they arrested a 29-year-old man, a resident of the town of Cadreita (Navarra), and another 36-year-old man, a resident of Tarazona (Zaragoza).
The ‘caleta’ was not the only technological advance handled by the organization. Throughout the operation, which has included 11 searches in flats, industrial buildings and other premises (one of them took place in Bizkaia), the security forces found a large drone used “for gang surveillance”, 9 encrypted mobile phones, as well as 2 modified vehicles for the transport of narcotic substances.
Agents proceed to the arrest of a suspect in Navarra.
According to the Civil Guard, the intervened effects, such as the surveillance drone or the encrypted telephones, “show the strong security measures that the organization adopted both in its movements and in its contacts to try to avoid police surveillance work” .
In total, 6 people have been arrested, young men between the ages of 28 and 47 and residents of the Navarran towns of Tudela, Cadreita, Arguedas and Galar, and one of them a resident of Tarazona (Zaragoza), as alleged perpetrators of a crime against public health-drug trafficking and a crime of belonging to a criminal group. In addition, 52,000 euros in cash have been recovered. With this joint operation between the Ertzaintza, the Customs Surveillance Service of the State Tax Administration Agency in Navarra and the Organized Crime and Anti-Drug Team of the Civil Guard of Navarra, a criminal network dedicated to the acquisition, distribution and sale of different types of narcotic substances.