Campo drugs crackdown leads to four arrests in Gibraltar

Four men were arrested in Gibraltar on Tuesday in a police operation stemming from a crack-down on drug trafficking in the Campo de Gibraltar.

The Royal Gibraltar Police said yesterday the arrests followed intelligence from the Guardia Civil about suspected money laundering activity on the Rock connected to drug trafficking.

As Guardia Civil officers carried out a series of raids in the Campo on Tuesday that led to the arrest of 29 people, detectives from the RGP’s economic crime unit, backed up by armed officers, were simultaneously raiding a flat in Ocean Village.

Three Spaniards and one local man were arrested on suspicion of money laundering in relation to drug trafficking offences, the RGP said in a statement.

The men, who have not been charged, were taken to New Mole House for questioning before being released on bail while investigations continue.

One of them is also the subject of a European Arrest Warrant issued by a Spanish court, the RGP said, although it did not offer details on the nature of the warrant.

Spanish authorities now have 48 hours to provide the necessary documentation for the warrant to be processed by a Gibraltar court.

The Commissioner of Police, Ian McGrail, welcomed the outcome of the operation, adding that sharing information between law enforcement agencies was “vital to combat organised crime groups”.

“Organised crime knows no boundaries or frontiers so we must make sure we have effective information exchanging systems in place to collaborate against the scourge of drug trafficking and related criminality,” he said.

“We will not allow Gibraltar to be used as a perceived safe haven for these criminals.”

“We will persevere in our efforts and continue to work with our counterparts abroad.”