Campo - Eighteen arrested on charges of smuggling cocaine through Algeciras port

Spain’s Guardia Civil reports dismantling a criminal network suspected of smuggling cocaine into Spain through the port of Algeciras with the assistance of dockworkers. 

Eighteen people have been arrested, including eight port employees, in connection with four cocaine seizures totalling 139.28kg at the port. 

The report describes the suspects as well organised, with some specialising in logistics and counter-surveillance and others using their privileged access to the port facilities to recover consignments of narcotics. 

The Guardia Civil alleges that the cocaine was concealed among legitimate goods in containers arriving from South America, which were then removed before the containers left the port towards their final destination. 

As a result, the registered exporters and importers may have been unaware that their shipments had been used to transport drugs. 

The report goes on to detail how investigators searched nine properties in Algeciras, La Línea and Puente Mayorga (San Roque). 

During one search, at a property linked to the alleged leader of the network, officers found 12kg of cocaine, €457,020 in cash, two handguns, ammunition and a bulletproof vest. 

A frequency detector was seized during another search, a device alleged to have been used by the suspects to reveal any microphones, cameras or GPS systems planted by law enforcement agencies. 

The investigation was led by the Guardia Civil and coordinated by the Campo de Gibraltar’s specialist prosecutors’ office. 

The 18 suspects have been placed before the courts, with six being held on remand without bail.