Underworld surveillance system sheds light on organised crime

Drug traffickers operating in the Campo de Gibraltar have “huge resources” at their disposal and are backed by a “secondary network” of lawful businesses that provide vital support to organised crime groups.

That was the assessment of the Royal Gibraltar Police yesterday following news at the weekend that Spain’s Policia Nacional had dismantled a sophisticated radar surveillance system set up by drug traffickers in beachfront properties in La Linea.

Spanish officers raided two houses fitted with radars and high-tech antennae used by criminal networks to monitor law enforcement vessels and helicopters, enabling them to sneak drug shipments across the Strait of Gibraltar undetected.

Images released by the Policia Nacional showed radar screens capable of monitoring vessel movements on both sides of the Rock, as well as in Spanish waters.

“This is demonstrative of the challenges faced by law enforcement in combating illicit drug trafficking operations,” a spokesman for the Royal Gibraltar Police told the Chronicle.

“Organised criminal groups have huge resources at their disposal which they dedicate to one singular purpose.”

The surveillance set-up uncovered in La Linea is believed to be among the most sophisticated ever used by traffickers in this area and illustrates the extent to which organised crime networks will go to avoid getting caught.

It also points to deep, well-financed criminal structures that overlap with lawful businesses.

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